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66th  Congress,  t 

SENATE. 

.  i 

Peport 

1st  Session.  ) 

( 

No.  289. 

INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


November  3  (calendar  day,  November  8),  1919. — Ordered  to  be  printed. 


r  ■ 

Mr.  Kexxun,  from  the  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor,  sub¬ 
mitted  the  following 

REPORT. 

[Pursuant  to^  S.,  Res.  188.1  ^  , 

On  the  23d  day  of  September,  1919,  the  Senate  passed  a  resolution 
instructing  the  Committee  on  Education  and  Labor  of  the  Senate 
immediately  to  investigate  the  steel  strike  and  report  to  the  Senate 
within  the  shortest  possible  time  the  cause  and  reason  therefor. 

The  committee,  acting  through  a  subcommittee,  visited  the  strike 
region  in  western  Pennsylvania ;  went  through  a  number  of  the  mills ; 
talked  with  the  men  working  in  the  mills  and  with  the  strikers;, 
visited  homes  of  the  men  and  heard  evidence  for  two  days  at  Pitts¬ 
burgh. 

Pather  extended  hearings  have  also  been  held  in  Washington,  and 
approximately  100  witnesses  have  been  examined.  The  committee 
has  heard  from  both  sides  of  tlri  controversy  and  tried  in  every  way 
to  secure  the  facts  bearing  upor  this  situation. 

FACTS  LEADING  UP  TO  THE  STRIKE...... 

It  appears  that  in  1892  there  ivas  a  general  strike  in  the  steel  in¬ 
dustry  commonly  known  as  the  ‘‘  Homestead  strike  ” — Homestead 
being  a  suburb  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  the  seat  of  one  of  the  largest 
steel  plants  in  the  countr3\  That  strike  was  fought  with  great 
bitterness  and  finally  resulted  in  failure,  and  from  that  time  on 
there  have  been  no  attempts  at  organizing  labor  in  the  steel  industry  / 
until  June,  1918.  As  to  what  happened  then,  Mr.  John  Fitzpatrick^ 
president  of  the  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor,  thus  testified: 

The  labor  organizations,  realizing  what  tremendous  influence  the  steel  in¬ 
dustry  has  on  all  other  industries,  made  up  its  mind  that  it  would  have  ta 
organize  the  steel  industry,  no  matter  at  what  cost,  because  in  all  other  in¬ 
dustries  labor  has  made  considerable  progress,  has  established  the  eight-hour 
day,  has  established  decent  standards  of  living  and  labor,  but  in  the  steel 


2 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


mills  hours  are  long,  wages  are  small,  below  the  pauper  line;  and  with  that 
kind  of  a  condition  used  as  an  argument  against  the  efforts  of  labor  elsewhere 
labor  understood  the  necessity  of  organizing  the  steel  mills 

T  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  held  in 

.June,  1918,  a  resolution  was  presented  calling  upon  the  American  Federation 
ot  Labor  to  bring  the  organizations  interested  in  the  steel  industry  together 
so  lhat  they  might  maj)  out  a  plan  of  action  within  the  scope  and  tactics  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  steel  mills. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  by  unanimous  vote.  The  president  of  the  American 
federation  of  Labor,  Mr.  Gompers,  was,  instructed,  under  the  terms  of  the 
resolution,  to  call  into  -meeting  the  organizations  who  had  an  interest  in  the 
steel  mills. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Chicago  about  August  1,  1918. 

international  unions  affiliated  with  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  responded  to  the  call,  and  campaign  committees  to  organize  the  iron  and 
steel  industries  were  organized. 


Samuel  Gompers,  president  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  was  elected 
cliairman  and  ^yilliam  Z.  Foster,  general  organizer  of  the  Brotherhood  of 
Carmen  of  America,  was  elected  as  the  secretary. 


Mr.  Fitzpatrick  further  testified  that  up  to  that  time  there  had 
been  no  real  unionism  in  the  steel  mills  since  1892. 

Mr.  Fitzpatrick  further  testified  that  by  May,  1919,  their  or¬ 
ganizers  had  some  80,000  men  in  the  Pittsburgh  and  Calumet  dis¬ 
tricts  within  the  organization.  When  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  convention  of  June,  1919,  convened,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  reported 
that  over  100,000  men  were  Avithin  the  organization. 

The  Atlantic  City  convention  instructed  Mr.  Gompers  to  enter 
into  negotiations  with  Mr.  E.  H.  Gary,  chairman  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  Steel  Corporation,  in  reference  to  ha\dng  a  better 
understanding  Avith  the  steel  company.  Mr.  Gompers  wrote  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Gary,  but  Mr.  Gary  did  not  reply  to  the  letter.  The  letter ' 
referred  to  is  as  follows: 

American  Federation  of  Labor, 

The  Alamac  Hotel, 
Atlantic  City,  N.  June  20,  1919. 

l\Ir.  Elbert  H.  Gary,  Chairman  Board  of  Directors, 

V.  S.  Steel  Corporation,  Keiv  York,  N.  Y. 


Dear  Sir  :  Of  course  you  are  aware  that  upon  the  request  of  a  number  of 
men  in  the  employ  of  the  United  SbUes  Steel  Corporation,  and  realizing  the 
need  of  it,  the  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  decided  to 
respond  and  give  such  assistance  as  is  possible  in  order  to  bring  about  more 
thorough  organization  of  the  workers  in  the  iron  and  steel  industry,  particularly 
those  employed  by  your  corporation. 

A  campaign  of  organization  v  as  begun  in  June.  1918,  and  within  that  period 
Ave  have  secured  the  organization  of  more  than  100,000  of  the  employees  in 
the  iron  and  steel  industry.  The  prospects  for  the  complete  organization  are, 
I  am  informed,  exceedingly  bright. 

Of  course,  knowing  the  policy  of  the  organized  labor  movement  I  have  tin 
honor  in  jiart  to  represent,  we  aim  to  accomiilish  the  purposes  of  our  laboi 
movement ;  that  is,  better  conditions  for  the  toilers  by  American  methods 
American  understandings,  and  not  by  revolutionary  methods  or  the  inaugura 
tion  of  a  cataclysm. 

AVe  belicA'e  in  the  effort  of  employer  and  employees  to  sit  down  around  ;i 
table  and,  meeting  thus,  face  to  face,  and  having  a  better  understanding  of 
each  other’s  position  in  regard  to  conditions  of  labor,  to  hours,  standard,*, 
etc.,  and  after  reaching  an  amicable  understanding  to  enter  into  an  agreement 
for  collective  bargaining  that  is  to  cover  wages,  hours  of  labor,  conditions  cf 
employment,  etc. 

At  the  Atlantic  City  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  ju.'t 
■closed  the  committee  reported  upon  the  progress  made,  and  I  am  instructed 
and  authorized  to  suggest  to  you  whether  you  will  consent  to  hold  a  confereme 


y  O  I  • 


^  INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES.  3 

with  a  committee  representing  not  only  the  iron  and  steel  workers  wlio  are 
organized  but  representing  the  best  interests  of  the  unorganized  men  m  tl  e 
S^of  ydm  corporation.  The  names  of  the  committee  I  am  asking  you 

^^AsdfsVmt ’president  Davie,  Amalgamated  Iron  and  Steel  and  Tin  Workers 
William  Hannon,  member  executive  board.  International  Association  o 

^^Fd^d^’Evan  representing  International  Brotherhood  of  Electrical  Workers 
Wm  Z  Foster  secretary  of  the  National  Committee  for  Organizing  lion  and 
Steel\4lLrs  am  the  Brotherhood  of  Car  Men  of  America. 

Tohn  Fitzpatrick  president  Chicago  Federation  of  Labor. 

U  don  cT advise  me  at  your  early  convenience  that  the  request  contained 
^in^hfs  letter  meets  with  your  aiiproval  and  that  a  conference  can  be  held,  I  a 

''"Kin.lty  mldress  yoiu"^  '>«  favoi-able,  to  the  American 

Federation  of  Labor  Building,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Respectfully,  youis,  Samuel  Gompers, 

President  American  Federation  of  Labor. 

(Steel-strike  hearings,  p.  224.) 

After  this  a  vote  was  had  upon  a  strike,  the  vote  taking  place  be- 

^^'^ius'dalmeVby  Mr!^Fkzpatrick  in  his  letter  to  the  President  that 
98  Lr  cerof  tS  nten  voted  for  the  strike  and  the  com.mttee  .nake 
no  finding  as  to  the  accuracy  of  that  statement  time.  T 

’figures  have  not  been  furnished  the  committee  as  to  the  vote, 
any  event  the  strike  was  called  for  the  22d  day  of  Septembei. 

August  20  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  Mr.  Foster,  and  others  wrote 

fTudge  Cfarv  asking  for  a  conference . 

New  York,  August  26,  1919. 

Hon  Elbert  H.  Gary,  Chairman  Finance  Committee, 

‘united  States  Steel  Corporation,  71  Broadicay,  ^  ew  I  ork  City. 
rurAT?  Diiriii"  a  general  campaign  of  organization  and  education  co 

dueled  imderae  auspicfs  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  many  thou- 
sands'of  men  empioyed  in  the  iron  and  steei  industry  made  application  and 
were  enrXS  armLnbers  of  the  .various  organization  to  which  they  were 

“^TWs®  work  has  been  carried  on  to  a  point  wliere  we  feel  justifled  in  stating 
fo  vou  that  we  represent  the  sentiment  of  the  vast  majority  of  the  employees  i 
hlfrndustrrand  acting  in  behalf  of  them,  we  solicit  of  you  that  a  hearing 
be  given  to  the  undersigned  committee,  who  have  been  selected  by  the  ? 
accredited  representatives  of  the  employees,  to  place  before  con- 

of  vital  concern  to  them,  and  concerning  hours  of  labor,  wa^es,  woiking  c 

ditions  and  the  right  of  collective  bargaining.  4.  oc  nnri 

The  committee  called  at  your  office  at  3  p.  m.,  Tuesday,  ^ugust  -6,  a 
nnested  a  conference.  We  were  advised  by  your  messengei  ^bat  you  wished 
to  be  excused  from  a  personal  interview  at  this  time  and  requested  us  to  ha  e 
our  busTness  in  rntin*^  and  whatever  matters  we  wished  to  submit  would  be 
tnkpn  UP  hv  vourself  and  your  colleagues  and  given  considei  ation.  ,  . ,  . 

Therefore  we  are  submitting  in  brief  the  principal  subjects  that  ^\e 
to  have  rconfereiiL  on.  The  committee  has  an  important  meeting  m  another 
lity  on  Thursday  next  and  will  leave  New  York  at  5 

May  we  respectfully  request  that  your  answer  be  sent  hef®™  ‘hat  ' 

John  Fitzgerald,  Continental  Hotel,  Broadway  and  Foity-first  btreet,  New 

York  City? 

Very  truly,  yours,  Fitzpatrick, 

D.  J.  Davis, 

Wm.  Hannon, 

Edw.  J.  Evans, 

Wm.  Z.  Foster, 

Committee. 


<  Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  16.) 


4 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


Judge  Gary  replied,  refusing  said  conference.  We  insert  said 
letter ; 


V 


United -States  Steel  Corporation, 

Office  of  the  Chairman, 

New  York,  August  21,  1919. 

Messrs.  John  Fitzpatrick,  David  J.  Davis,  William  Hannon,  Wm.  Z.  Foster, 
Edw.  J.  Evans,  Committee. 


Gentlemen  :  Receipt  of  your  communication  of  August  26  instant  is  acknowl¬ 
edged.  ’  ^ 

We  do  not  think  you  are  authorized  to  represent  the  sentiment  of  a  majority 
of  the  employees  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  and  its  subsidiaries. 
We  express  no  opinion  concerning  any  other  members  of  the  iron  and  steel 
industry. 


As  heretofore  publicly  stated  and  repeated,  our  corporation  and  subsidiaries, 
although  they  do  not  combat  labor  unions  as  such,  declined  to  discuss  business 
with  them.  The  corporation  and  subsidiaries  are  opposed  to  the  “  closed  shop.” 
They  stand  for  the  “  open  shop,”  which  permits  one  to  engage  in  any  line  of 
employment  whether  one  does  or  does  not  belong  to  a  labor  union.  This  best 
promotes  the  welfare  of  both  employees  and  employers.  In  view  of  the  well- 
known  attitude  as  above  expressed,  the  officers  of  the  corporation  respectfully 
decline  to  discuss  with  you,  as  representatives  of  a  labor  union,  any  matters 
relating  to  employees.  In  doing  so  no  personal  discourtesy  is  intended. 

In  all  decisions  and  acts  of  the  corporation  and  subsidiaries  pertaining  to 
employees  and  employment  their  interests  are  of  highest  importance.  In  wage 
rates,  living  and  working  conditions,  conservation  for  life  and  health,  care  and 
comfort  in  times  of  sickness  or  old  age,  and  providing  facilities  for  the  general 
welfare  and  happiness  of  employees  and  their  families,  the  corporation  and 
subsidiaries  have  endeavored  to  occupy  a  leading  and  advanced  position  amongst 
employers. 

It  will  be  the  object  of  the  corporation  and  subsidiaries  to  give  such  con¬ 
sideration  to  employees  as  to  show  them  their  loyal  and  efficient  service  in  the 
past  is  appreciated,  and  that  they  may  expect  in  the  future  fair  treatment. 

Respectfully,  yours. 


E.  H.  Gary,  Chairman. 


(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  17.) 


To  which  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  Mr.  Foster  further  replied  August 
27,  as  follows : 

New  York  City,  August  21,  1919. 

Hon.  Elrert  H.  Gary, 

Chairman  Finance  Committee,  United  States  Steel  Corporation,  11  Broad- 
ivay,  Neio  York  City. 

Dear  Sir:  We  have  received  your  answer  to  our  request  for  a  conference 
on  behalf  of  the  employees  of  your  corporation,  and  we  understand  the  first 
paragraph  of  your  answer  to  be  an  absolute  refusal  on  the  part  of  your  cor¬ 
poration  to  concede  to  your  employees  the  right  of  collective  bargaining. 

You  question  the  authority  of  our  committee  to  represent  the  majority  of 
your  employees.  The  only  way  by  which  we  can  prove  our  authority  is  to  put 
the  strike  vote  into  effect  and  we  sincerely  hope  you  will  not  force  a  strike  to 
prove  this  point. 

We  asked  for  a  conference  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  a  meeting  where 
the  questions  of  wages,  hours,  conditions  of  employment,  and  collective  bar¬ 
gaining  might  be  discussed.  Your  answer  is  a  flat  refusal  for  such  conference, 
which  raises  the  question,  if  the  accredited  representatives  of  your  employees 
and  the  international  unions  affiliated  with  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 
and  the  Federation  itself  are  denied  a  conference,  what  chance  has  the  employee 
as  such  to  secure  any  consideration  of  the  views  they  entertain  or  the  com¬ 
plaints  they  may  he  justified  in  making? 

We  noted  particularly  your  definition  of  the  attitude  of  your  corporation  on 
the  question  of  the  open  and  closed  sliop  and  the  positive  declaration  in  refus¬ 
ing  to  meet  representatives  of  union  labor.  These  subjects  are  matters  which 
might  well  be  discussed  in  conference.  There  has  not  anything  arisen  between 
your  corporation  and  the  employees  whom  we  represent  in  which  the  question 
of  the  closed  shop  has  been  even  mooted. 

We  read  with  great  care  your  statement  as  to  the  interest  the  corporation 
takes  in  the  lives  and  welfare  of  the  employees  and  their  families,  and  if  that 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


5 


were  true  even  in  u  minor  (leji:re(?,  we  woiikl  not  be  pressing  consideration 
through  a  conference  of  tfie  terrible  conditions  that  exist.  The  conditions  of 
employment,  the  home  life,  the  misery  in  the  hovels  of  the  steel  workers  is 
beyond  description.  You  may  not  be  aware  that  the  standard  of  life  of  the 
average  steel  workers  is  below  the  pauper  line,  which  means  that  charitable 
institutions  furnish  to  the  pauper  a  better  home,  more  food,  clothing,  light, 
and  heat  than  many  steel  workers  can  bring  into  their  lives  upon  the  compen¬ 
sation  received  for  putting  forth  their  very  best  efforts  in  the  steel  industry. 
Surely  this  is  a  matter  which  will  be  discussed  in  conference. 

You  also  made  reference  to  the  attitude  of  your  corporation  in  not  opposing 
or  preventing  your  employees  from  joining  labor  organizations.  It  is  a  matter 
of  common  knowledge  that  the  tactics  employed  by  your  corporation  and  subsid¬ 
iaries  have  for  years  most  effectually  prevented  any  attempt  at  organization 
by  your  employees.  We  feel  that  a  conference  would*  be  valuable  to  your  cor¬ 
poration  for  the  purpose  of  getting  facts  of  which,  judging  from  your  letter,  you 
seem  to  be  uninformed. 

Some  few  days  are  still  at  the  disposal  of  our  committee  before  the  time 
limit  will  have  expired  when  there  will  be  no  discretion  left  to  the  committee 
but  to  enforce  the  decree  of  your  employees  whom  we  have  the  honor  to 
represent. 

We  submit  tha^t  reason  and  fairness  should  obtain  than  that  the  alternative 
shall  be  compulsory  upon  us. 

Surely  reasonable  men  can  find  a  common  ground  upon  which  we  can  all 
stand  and  prosper. 

If  you  will  communicate  with  us  further  upon  this  entire  matter,  please 
address  your  communication  to  the  National  Hotel,  Washington,  D.  C.,  where 
we  shall  be  Thursday  and  Friday,  August  28  and  29. 

Very  truly,  yours. 


(Steel  strike  hearings,  pp.  17  and  18.) 


John  Fitzpatkick, 

D.  J.  Davis, 

Wm.  Hannon, 

Edw.  J.  Evans, 

Wm.  Z.  Foster, 

Committee. 


On  September  10  the  President,  through  a  telegram  from  Mr. 
Tumulty,  urged  postponement  of  action  until  after  the  industrial 
conference  at  Washington,  which  had  been  called  for  October.  Such 
telegram  is  as  follows : 


Hon.  AAIUEL  Gompers, 

President  American  Federation  of  Labor,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

In  view  of  the  difficulty  of  arranging  any  present  satisfactory  mediation  with 
regard  to  the  steel  situation,  the  President  desires  to  urge  upon  the  steel  men, 
through  you.  the  wisdom  and  desirability  of  postponing  action  of  any  kind  until 
after  the  forthcoming  industrial  conference  at  Washington. 

J.  P.  Tumulty. 

( Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  4. ) 

Mr.  Gompers  on  September  11  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
Mr.  Fitzpatrick: 

Dear  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  :  This  morning  I  received  a  telegram  as  follows : 

“  Dickinson,  N.  Dak.,  September  10,  1919. 

“  Hon.  Samuel  Gompers, 

'^President  American  Federation  of  Labor, 

“  Washington,  D.  C.: 

In  view  of  the  difficulty  of  ari'anging  any  present  satisfactory  mediation 
with  regard  to  the  steel  situation,  the  President  desires  to  urge  upon  the  steel 
men,  through  you,  the  wisdom  and  desirability  of  postponing  action  of  any  kind 
until  after  the  forthcoming  industrial  conference  at  Washington. 

“  J.  P.  Tumulty.” 

You  are  aware  of  the  reason  which  prevented  my  participating  further,  the 
past  few  days,  in  the  conferences  with  the  representatives  of  the  various  na¬ 
tional  and  international  unions  involved  in  this  question. 


6 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


In  transmitting  the  above  to  you  (whicli  I  am  doing  by  long-distance  tele¬ 
phone  from  New  York  City),  I  want  to  express  the  hope  that  something  can  be 
done  without  injury  to  the  workers  and  their  cause  to  endeavor  to  conform  to 
the  wish  expressed  by  the  President ;  that  even  though  the  corporation  may 
endeavor  to  provoke  the  men  to  action  that  they  may  hold  themselves  in  leash 
and  under  self-control,  consciously  demonstrating  their  stamina  and  willing¬ 
ness  to  abide  by  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and  that  their  rights  will  be  finally 
protected. 

Fraternally,  yours, 

Samub-l  Gompeks, 

Prefiident  of  the  Ainericun  Federation  of  Labor. 


(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  4.) 

On  September  12  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr,  Gom- 
pers  as  follows : 


Dear  Sir  and  Brother  :  I  received  your  letter,  containing  copy  of  President 
Wilson’s  telegram,  and  note  carefully  the  suggestions  jmu  make  thereto.  On 
may  way  back  to  Chicago,  I  stopped  off  at  Pittsburgh  in  order  to  confer  with 
President  M.  F.  Tighe  and  Secretary  W.  Z.  Foster.  We  agreed  to  reply  to  your 
letter  as  follows : 

You  may  not  be  aware  that  seven  of  our  organizers  and  members  have  been 
brutally  murdered  in  cold  blood  during  the  past  few  days  and  the  campaign 
of  terrorism  on  the  part  of  the  steel  companies  is  beyond  description.  After 
a  two  days’  conference  of  the  responsible  heads  and  representatives  of  the  24 
international  unions,  it  was  decided  by  unanimous  vote  that  the  only  way  to 
safeguard  their  interests  in  such  a  situation  was  to  set  the  strike  for  Septem¬ 
ber  22.  Every  man  connected  with  this  movement  is  deeply  conscious  of  the 
great  responsibility  devolving  upon  him,  and  it  was  only  after  every  avenue  of 
approach  had  been  closed  that  the  above  action  was  taken. 

Brothers  Tighe,  Foster,  and  myself  considered  your  suggestions  and  finally 
concluded  that  any  vague,  indefinite  postponement  would  mean  absolute  de¬ 
moralization  and  utter  ruin  for  our  movement.  It  would  be  a  thousand  times 
better  for  the  entire  labor  movement  that  we  lose  the  strike  and  suffer  complete 
defeat  than  to  attempt  postponement  now,  except  under  a  definite  arrange¬ 
ment  which  would  absolutely  and  positively  guarantee  the  steel  workers  sub¬ 
stantial  concessions  and  protection.  If  these  things  can  not  be  guaranteed, 
then,  in  our  opinion,  our  only  hope  is  the  strike. 

The  national  committee  will  meet  in  Pittsburgh,  Wednesday,  September  17, 
at  11  a.  m.,  for  the  purpose  of  planning  the  details  and  making  final  arrange¬ 
ments  for  the  strike. 

Yours,  sincerely. 


.loHN  Fitzpatrick. 


(Steel  strike  hearings,  pp.  4  and  5.) 


We  present  also  the  letter  of  John  Fitzpatrick  and  others,  dated 
September  18,  1919,  addressed  to  the  President: 

Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  September  18,  1919. 

Hon.  Woodrow  Wilson, 

President  of  the  United  States, 

Washington,  D.  G. 

Dear  Sir  :  Answering  your  request  through  Samuel  Gomiiers,  president  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  that  the  date  of  the  strike  in  the  steel  in¬ 
dustry  of  this  country  be  postponed  from  September  22  next,  the  date  hereto¬ 
fore  fixed,  until  after  a  conference  called  by  you  to  meet  in  Washington  on 
October  G  next,  we  respectfully  make  the  following  report: 

For  years  there  has  been  great  unrest  among  the  steel  workers  of  our  coun¬ 
try  because  of  the  unusual,  un-American,  and  despotic  industrial  conditions. 
Finding  no  redress  in  individual  efforts,  the  men  naturally  sought,  by  the  ex¬ 
ample  of  other  workers  through  their  organizations,  to  associate  themselves 
for  collective  defense.  Oppression  growing  beyond  endurance,  the  call  for 
assistance  to  redress  grievances  came  from  every  quarter  of  the  industry  to  the 
St.  Paul  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  held  in  .Tune,  1918.  A 
committee  consisting  of  representatives  of  the  crafts  engaged  in  this  industry 
were  ordered  to  and  did  make  investigation.  They  found  the  field  overripe 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


7 


for  organization.  The  enrollment  of  membership  grew  hy  leaps  and  hounds. 
Relief  from  their  oppression  was  imminent  and,  yet,  out  of  patriotic  considera¬ 
tion  to  our  cause,  they  endured  the  continued  suffering  without  cessation  of 
their  laboi-s  to  the  end  that  despotism  abroad  might  not  gain  thereby  aid  and 
comfort. 

Immediately  after  armistice  was  declared,  the  men  insisted  upon  having 
their  wrongs  righted.  They  were  persuaded,  however,  to  wait  until  the 
Atlantic  City  convention  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  held  in  June, 
1019.  Following  a  report  made  to  that  convention,  Mr.  Gompers  sought  a 
conference  with  Mr.  Gary,  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  of  the  United 
States  Steel  Corporation,  on  that  subject  in  the  hoi^e  of  avoiding  a  grave  in¬ 
dustrial  conflict.  Mr.  Gompers,  whose  constructive  patriotism  is  beyond  any 
question,  was  denied  even  the  courtesy  of  a  reply.  Then,  the  men  insisted 
upon  action,  and  following  authorization  for  taking  a  vote  upon  a  strike,  be¬ 
ginning  with  July  20  and  ending  August  20  of  this  year,  98  per  cent  of  the 
men  voted  for  a  strike. 

Following  the  vote  taken,  a  committee  representing  the  crafts  involved  went 
to  Mr.  Gary  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  conference,  in  the  hope  of  avoiding 
the  strike.  Mr.  Gary  refused  to  see  the  committt'e  or  deal  with  any  one  of 
them.  The  committee,  still  desirous  of  avoiding  the  conflict,  laid  the  entire 
matter  before  the  executive  council  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 
Mr.  Gompers  and  the  executive  council  indorsed  the  actions  of  the  men.  Never¬ 
theless,  in  the  hope  of  averting  conflict,  an  appeal  was  made  to  your  honor. 

Mr.  Gary,  obstinate  in  his  denial  to  grant  relief,  caused  such  a  great  unrest 
as  to  necessitate  calling  a  meeting  of  the  presidents  of  the  24  crafts  involved. 
After  a  thorough,  calm,  and  deliberate  review  and  study  of  the  entire  situation, 
taking  into  consideration  all  the  consequences  tint  would  naturally  flow  there¬ 
from,  these  24  presidents,  representing  over  2,000,000  organized  men,  indorsed 
the  strike,  and  set  September  22,  as  the  date  thereof.  The  date  was  deferred 
to  September  22  against  the  best  interests  of  the  strike  solely  in  the  hope  that 
Mr.  Gary  and  his  associates  might  in  the  meanwhile  reconsider  their  position, 
so  as  to  avoid  the  otherwise  inevitable  conflict. 

In  a  meeting  called  on  September  17,  at  Pittsburgh,  of  the  representatives 
of  the  aforesaid  crafts  for  the  purpose  of  devising  ways  and  means  of  con¬ 
ducting  the  strike,  your  communication  through  Mr.  Gompers,  requesting  that 
the  date  of  the  strike  be  postponed  was  received.  Two  days  of  consideration 
were  given  to  the  same.  Everyone  present  desired,  if  it  were  possible  to  comply 
with  your  request.  Your  request  for  postponement  would  have  been  gladly 
granted,  were  it  not  for  the  following  facts : 

1.  Mr.  Gary  has  asserted  that  his  men  need  no  trained  representation  in 
their  behalf  in  presenting  their  grievances,  notwithstanding  that  they  can 
neither  economically,  by  lack  of  means,  nor  intelligently,  by  lack  of  schooling, 
cope  with  him  or  his  representatives. 

2.  That,  ever  since  the  men  started  to  organize,  a  systematic  persecution  was 
instituted,  beginning  with  discharge  and  ending  with  murder,  recalling  to  us 
vividly  the  days  of  Homsetead  and  the  reign  of  despotism  in  Russia. 

3.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  representatives  of  the  steel  industry,  officials  in 
various  localities  have  denied  the  men  free  assembly  and  free  speech.  Instances 
are  too  numerous  where  meetings  have  been  suppressed,  men  arrested,  tried 
on  various  unfounded  charges,  excessive  bail  required,  and  cruel  punishment 
imposed,  all  without  warrant  in  law  and  justice. 

4.  As  one  of  many  examples — in  the  city  of  iVIcKeesport  a  meeting  held  by 
the  men  within  their  constitutional  rights  was  broken  up  and  men  arrested  and 
thrown  into  jail,  charged  with  riot  and  held  to  the  excessive  bail  of  $3,000 
each,  while  one  of  the  hirelings  of  the  steel  industry,  arrested  for  the  murder 
of  a  woman  speaker  at  Brackenridge,  Pa.,  is  being  held  under  bail  of  but 
$2,500.  Another  patent  example  is,  Hammond,  Ind.,  where  four  defenseless 
union  men  were  charged  upon  and  killed  by  hired  detectives  of  the  steel  indus¬ 
try,  and  witnesses  in  behalf  of  their  survivors  have  been  so  intimidated  and 
maltreated  that  the  truth  of  the  killing  was  suppressed. 

5.  Guns  and  cannon  have  been  planted  in  mills,  highly  charged  electric  wires 

have  been  strung  around  their  premises.  ^ 

6.  Armed  men  in  large  numbers  are  going  about  intimidating,  not  only  the 
workers,  but  everybody  in  many  communities  who  show  the  slightest  indication 
of  sympathy  with  the  men. 

7.  Men  have  been  discharged  in  increasingly  large  numbers  day  by  day. 
Threats  and  intimidations  are  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  putting  the  men 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


in  fear  and  preventing  them  from  the  exercise  of  their  own  free  will,  coerced 
into  signing  statements  that  they  are  not  members,  nor  will  become  members, 
of  any  labor  organization,  and  threatened  with  eviction,  blacklist,  denial  of 
credit,  and  starvation. 

8.  That  a  forced  decline  of  the  market  would  be  imposed  so  as  to  wipe  out 
their  holdings  in  stock,  which  they  were  induced  to  purchase  in  years  past. 
Threats  to  move  the  mills  and  close  them  up  indefinitely. 

9.  That  an  organized  propaganda  for  vilification  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor,  spreading  rumors  that  the  strike  will  be  delayed,  and  that  such  delay 
is  only  a  sell-out. 

10.  Showing  no  opposition  to  the  men  joining  dual  organizations.  As  a 
result  of  this  propaganda,  the  I.  W.  W.  is  making  rapid  headway  in  some  of 
the  districts. 

11.  That  the  real  reason  for  opposition  to  organized  labor  representation  on 
behalf  of  the  men  who  have  grievances  is  that  the  steel  industry  is  preparing 
to  cut  wages  and  to  lower  the  standards  to  prewar  times,  and  to  return  to  a 
condition  that  encouraged  the  padrone  system,  so  prevalent  in  that  particular 
industry. 

Mr.  President,  delay  is  no  longer  possible.  We  have  tried  to  find  a  way,  but 
can  not.  We  regret  that  for  the  first  time  your  call  upon  organized  labor  can 
not  meet  with  favorable  response.  Believe  us,  the  fault  is  not  ours.  If  delay 
were  no  more  than  delay,  even  at  the  cost  of  loss  of  membership  in  onr  organi¬ 
zations,  we  would  urge  the  same  to  the  fullest  of  our  ability,  notwithstanding 
the  men  are  firmly  set  for  an  immediate  strike.  But  delay  here  means  the 
surrender  of  all  hope.  This  strike  is  not  at  the  call  of  its  leaders,  but  that  of 
the  men  involved.  Win  or  lose,  the  strike  is  inevitable,  and  will  continue  until 
industrial  despotism  will  recede  from  the  untenable  position  now  occupied  by 
Mr.  Gary.  We  have  faith  in  your  desire  to  bring  about  a  conference  and  hope 
you  will  succeed  therein.  We  fully  understand  the  hardships  that  meanwhile 
will  follow,  and  the  reign  of  terror  that  unfair  employers  will  institute.  The 
burden  falls  upon  the  men,  but  the  great  responsibility  therefor  rests  upon  the 
other  side. 

Sincerely  and  patriotically,  yours, 

John  Fitzpatrick,  Chairman. 

Wm.  Z.  Foster,  {Secretary. 

David  J.  Davis. 

Wm.  Hannon, 

J.  E.  McCadden. 

(Steel  strike  hearings,  pp.  5,  6,  and  7.) 

We  may  sa}^  in  passing  that  the  statement  in  the  letter  to  Mr. 
Oompers  that  seven  of  the  organizers  and  members  had  been  brutally 
murdered  in  cold  blood  during  the  past  few  days  is  false.  Many 
statements  in  the  letter  to  the  President  likewise  are  veiy  greatly  ex¬ 
aggerated  or  false. 

From  the  foregoing  letters  it  would  appear  that  the  responsibility 
for  continuing  the  strike  under  these  conditions  was  assumed  pri¬ 
marily  by  Messrs.  John  Fitzpatrick,  M.  F.  Tighe,  and  W.  Z.  Foster. 
None  of  them  except  Mr.  Tighe  were  connected  with  the  steel 
industry. 

It  is  not  contended  that  the  employ^ees  were  permitted  to  pass  on 
the  President’s  request  or  were  even  consulted  about  it.  These  three 
organizers  apparently  were  the  only  ones  who  yvere  consulted  at  that 
lime.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  writing  Mr.  Gompers  and  refusing  to  post¬ 
pone  the  strike,  among  other  things  said  as  follows : 

Brothers  Tighe,  Foster,  and  myself  considered  your  suggestions  and  finally 
■concluded  that  any  vague,  indefinite  postponement  would  mean  absolute  demor- 
ulization  and  utter  ruin  for  our  movement. 

The  sole  responsibility,  however,  for  the  refusal  to  postpone  the 
strike  at  the  Ih-esident’s  request  can  not  be  entirely  charged  to  the 
three  above  mentioned.  Five  days  after  the  labor  leaders’  letter  to 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


9 


Mr.  Goinpers  there  was  a  meeting  of  all  the  24  responsible  leaders  of 
the  unions  involved  and  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Gompers  and  others 
shows  that  at  the  meeting  to  which  several  members  came  prepared 
to  urge  acceding  to  the  request  for  delay  all  present  including  Mr. 
Gompers  decided  that  further  delay  would  result  in  the  failure  to 
hold  the  men  from  striking.  The  responsibility  should  therefore  at 
least  be  shared  by  all  alike,  Mr.  Gompers  included.  — 

DEMANDS  OF  THE  OKOANIZEKS. 

The  12  demands  to  be  considered  by  the  organizers  of  the  Steel 
Co.,  in  their  proposed  conference  with  Judge  Gary,  were  as  follows: 

1.  Eight  of  collective  bargaining. 

2.  Eeinstatement  of  all  men  discharged  for  union  activities  with 
pay  for  time  lost. 

3.  The  eight-hour  day. 

4.  One  day’s  rest  in  seven. 

5.  Abolition  of  24-hour  shifts. 

C.  Increase  in  wages  sufficient  to  guarantee  American  standards  of 
living. 

7.  Standard  scale  of  wages  for  all  crafts  and  classification  of  the 
workers. 

8.  Double  rates  of  pay  for  all  overtime  work  and  for  work  on  Sun¬ 
days  and  holidays. 

9.  Check-off  system  of  collecting  union  dues  and  assessments. 

10.  Principle  of  seniority  to  apply  in  maintaining,  reducing,  and 
increasing  working  force. 

11.  Abolition  of  company  account. 

J2.  Abolition  of  physical  examination  of  applicant  for  employ¬ 
ment. 

Mr.  Fitzpatrick  testified  that  these  demands  were  to  be  the  basis 
of  discussion  between  the  organizers  and  Mr.  Garv. 

MK.  Gary’s  attitude. 

The  company’s  attitude  on  these  questions  is  thus  put  forth  in  a 
letter  of  Mr.  Gary  to  the  officers  of  the  subsidiar}^  companies,  in¬ 
serted  in  the  record  and  which  is  as  follows : 

Not  long  since  I  respectfully  declined  to  meet,  for  the  purpose  of  discussing 
matters  pertaining  to  labor  at  our  various  plants,  a  number  of  gentlemen  rep¬ 
resenting  certain  labor  unions.  They  claim  this  furnishes  cause  for  complaint 
and  have  stated  that  they  intend,  if  possible,  to  prevent  a  continuance  of  opera¬ 
tions  at  our  mills  and  factories. 

I  deem  it  proper  to  repeat  in  a  letter  what  heretofore  has  been  said  to  you 
verbally.  I  entertain  no  feeling  or  animosity  toward  the  gentlemen  personally 
and  would  not  hesitate  to  meet  them  as  individuals,  but  I  did  not  consider  it 
proper  to  confer  with  them  under  the  circumstances. 

The  declaration  was  made  for  two  reasons:  First,  because  I  did  not  believe 
the  gentlemen  were  authorized  to  speak  for  large  numbers  of  our  employees, 
whose  interests  and  wishes  are  of  prime  importance.  Secondly,  becau.<=:e  a  con¬ 
ference  with  these  men  would  have  been  treated  by  them  as  a  recognition  of 
the  “  closed-shop  ”  method  of  employment.  We  do  not  combat  labor  unions  as 
such.  We  do  not  negotiate  with  labor  unions,  because  it  would  indicate  the 
•closing  of  our  shops  against  nonunion  labor ;  and  large  numbers  of  our  work¬ 
men  are  not  members  of  unions  and  do  not  care  to  be. 

The  principle  of  “  open  shop  ”  is  vital  to  the  greatest  industrial  progress  and 
prosperity.  It  is  of  equal  benefit  to  employer  and  employee.  It  means  that 


10 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


every  man  may  engage  in  any  line  of  employment  that  he  selects,  and  under 
such  terms  as  he  and  the  employer  may  agree  upon ;  that  he  may  arrange 
for  the  kind  and  character  of  work  which  he  believes  will  bring  to  him  the 
largest  compensation  and  the  most  satisfactory  conditions,  depending  upon 
his  own  merit  and  disposition. 

The  “  closed  shop  ”  means  that  no  man  can  obtain  employment  in  that  shop  ex¬ 
cept  through  and  upon  the  terms  and  conditions  imposed  by  the  labor  unions. 
He  is  compelled  to  join  the  union  and  to  submit  to  the  dictation  of  its  leader 
before  he  can  enter  the  place  of  business.  If  he  joins  the  unioh,  he  is  then 
restricted  by  its  leader  as  to  place  of  work,  hours  of  work  (and  therefore 
amoiint  of  compensation),  and  advancement  in  position,  regardless  of  merit,  and 
sometimes,  by  the  dictum  of  the  union  leader, <ialled  out  and  prevented  from 
work  for  days  or  weeks,  although  he  has  no  real  grievance,  and  he  and  his 
family  are  suffering  for  the  want  of  necessities  of  life.  In  short,  he  is  sub¬ 
jected  to  the  arbitrary  direction  of  the  leader,  and  his  personal  independence 
is  gone.  Personal  ambition  to  succeed  and  prosper  is  stifled. 

This  country  will  not  stand  for  the  “  closed  shop.”  It  can  not  afford  it.  In 
the  light  of  experience  we  know  it  would  signify  decreased  production,  in¬ 
creased  cost  of  living,  and  initiative,  development,  and  enterprise  dwarfed.  It 
would  be  the  beginning  of  industrial  decay  and  an  injustice  to  the  workmen 
themselves,  who  prosper  only  when  industry  succeeds.  The  “  open  shop  ” 
generally  will  be  approved  by  them,  for  this  permits  them  to  engage  in  any 
employment,  whether  they  are  or  are  not  members  of  a  labor  union. 

It  is  appropriate,  further,  to  emphasize  what  has  been  said  many  times  in 
regard  to  our  employees.  Everyone,  without  exception,  must  be  treated  by  all 
others  justly  and  according  to  merit.  In  accordance  with  our  established 
custom,  one  of  our  workmen,  or  a  number  of  our  workmen  from  any  depart¬ 
ment,  will  continue  to  he  received  by  the  management  to  consider  for  adjust¬ 
ment  any  question  presented. 

It  is  the  settled  determination  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  and  its 
subsidiaries  that  the  wages  and  working  conditions  of  their  employees  shall 
compare  favorably  with  the  highest  standards  of  propriety  and  justice.  Mis¬ 
representations  have  already  been  made  and  hereafter  will  be  made ;  unfavor¬ 
able  criticisms  may  be  indulged  in  by  outsiders,  especially  by  those  who  have 
little  knowledge  of  the  facts;  our  employees  may  be  threatened  and  abused  in 
the  effort  to  influence  them  to  join  the  union  against  their  own  desires ;  but, 
whatever  the  circumstances  may  be,  we  should  proceed  with  the  conduct  of  our 
business  in  the  usual  way  and  should  give  evidence  to  our  employees  that  we 
mean  to  be  fair  with  them. 

WAGES. 

The  question  of  wages  is  not  involved  in  the  controversy.  Few 
of  the  witnesses  examined  made  any  complaint  as  to  wages.  Some 
of  them  did  contend  that  they  should  have  12-hour  pay  for  8-hour 
work,  but  most  of  them,  while  striking  for  an  8-hour  day,  claimed 
only  a  fair  living  wage.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  committee  that, 
broadly  speaking,  the  emplo5"ees  of  the  steel  industry  at  the  time 
of  the  strike  were  fairly  well  satisfied  with  the  wages  received,  and 
that  such  question  was  not  persuasive  at  all  in  any  consideration  of 
a  strike. 

The  average  wages  in  July,  1919,  were  $6.27  per  day.  The  wages 
of  unskilled  labor  in  1911  for  a  10-hour  day  were  $2;  in  1919,  for 
a  10-hour  day,  $1.62.  In  July,  1914,  the  wages  were  $2.40;  in  July, 
1919,  for  a  12-hour  day  the  wages  were  $5.88.  The  lowest  wage  paid 
to  grown  men  is  42  cents  an  hour  for  8  hours,  and  63  cents  per  hour, 
or  time  and  a  half,  for  all  time  over  8  hours.  The  lowest  paid 
wages  for  unskilled  labor  is  $4.62  per  day. 

It  may  also  be  said  that  most  of  the  men  speak  highly  of  such 
homes  as  are  furnished  by  the  company.  There  is  undoubtedly 
great  need  of  more  homes  to  be  sold  to  the  men  in  order  to  encourage 
home  owning.  They  rent  these  homes  at  very  reasonable  prices,  and 
the  general  condition  of  these  homes  seems  fairly  good. 


INVESTIGATING  STIIIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


11 


We  find  also  little  complaint  as  to  lack  of  safety  appliances,  as  to 
improved  machinery,  or  as  to  conditions  in  general  outside  of  the 
long  hours  of  work.  In  encouraging  and  assisting  its  employees  to 
become  owners  of  its  stock;  in  guarding  its  employees  against  acci¬ 
dental  injuries;  in  caring  for  the  sick;  and  in  sanitary  precautions 
generally  the  work  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  at  the 
present  time  is  in  the  main  admirable,  and  in  refreshing  contrast  to 
the  shortsighted  selfishness  that  still  persists  in  many  manufacturing 
concerns. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  STRIKE. 

The  underlying  cause  of  the  strike  is  the  determination  of  the^ 
American  Federation  of  Labor  to  organize  the  steel  workers  in 
opposition  to  the  known  and  long-established  policy  of  the  steel 
industry  against  unionization.  In  this  connection  attention  is  called 
to  subdivision  “  C  ”  of  title  “  The  Steel  Co.’s  Answer  to  Labor’s 
Claims.”  The  seizing  upon  this  cause  by  some  radicals  who  are  seek¬ 
ing  to  elevate  themselves  to  power  in  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  will  be  discussed  later,  but  were  it  not  for  the  attempt  to 
unionize  the  mills  the  strike  in  all  probabilit}^  would  not  have  oc¬ 
curred. 

Other  reasons  are  presented  by  the  labor  leaders  and  the  laboring 
men  who  have  gone  on  the  strike,  such  as — 

(a)  The  refusal  of  Mr.  Gary  to  confer  with  the  committee  claim¬ 
ing  to  represent  the  employees.  On  pages  51  and  52  Mr.  Fitzpatrick 
gives  this  as  the  reason  why  the  strike  was  called. 

(&)  The  denial  of  the  right  of  the  employees  to  be  heard  by  their 
own  representatives  through  spokesmen  of  their  own  choosing.  (Mr. 
Gompers’s  testimony,  pp.  88  and  IIO.U^ 

(c)  The  demand  for  the  right  oi  collective  bargaining  to  be 
brought  about  through  unionization  of  the  steel  plants. 

(d)  The  demand  for  an  eight-hour  day. 

(e)  The  12  demands  of  the  organizers  hereinbefore  set  forth  not 
included  in  the  above  subdivisions. 

We  think,  however,  that  those  above  mentioned,  including  sub¬ 
divisions  (a),  (6),  (c),  and  (d)  are  the  fundamental  ones,  and  that 
the  other  demands,  included  under  (e),  were  not  sufficient,  in  the 
judgment  even  of  the  employees,  to  warrant  any  strike. 

THE  STEEL  CO.’s  CLAIM  AS  TO  REASONS  FOR  THE  STRIKE. 

(a)  Attempt  to  make  plants  closed  shops  b}^  unionizing. 

(h)  Interference  of  outsiders  who  do  not  represent  the  men  em¬ 
ployed  and  were  not  themselves  workers  in  the  mills. 

(c)  Radical  elements  bringing  about  the  strike  in  order  to  secure 
control  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  backed  by  anarchists. 
Bolshevists,  and  I.  W.  W.’s. 

It  seems  to  us  that  this  fairly  represents  the  Steel  Co.’s  position 
as  to  the  reasons  for  the  strike. 

THE  STEEL  CO.’S  ANSWER  TO  LABOr’s  CLAIMS. 

(a)  That  the  men  who  desired  the  conference  did  not  represent 
the  employees.  Judge  Gary  (p.  172  of  the  testimony)  claims  that 
these  men  had  not  been  asked  to  represent  the  employees;  that  they 


12 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


were  outside  volunteers,  and  in  any  event  (p.  208  of  the  testimony) 
he  would  not  confer  with  representatives  of  the  unions. 

From  the  testimony: 

Senator  Walsh.  You  have  no  objection  to  unions  in  your  plants.  Is  that 
right? 

Mr.  Gary.  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean  by  that. 

Senator  Walsh.  You  recognize  the  right  of  the  men  to  form  unions? 

Mr.  Gary.  Yes. 

Senator  Walsh.  But  you  refuse  to  confer  with  the  representatives  of  the 
unions? 

Mr.  Gary.  Yes. 

(P.  208,  steel  strike  hearings.) 

(b)  Answering  the  eight-hour  day  claim,  the  Steel  Co.  contends 

it  is  impossible  to  have  the  three  shifts;  that  they  can  not  get  the 
men.  An  eight-hour  day  would  mean  three  shifts  instead  of  two. 
That  they  have  adopted  a  basic  eight-hour  day  as  to  pay;  that  the 
company  is  considering  the  question  of  establishing  an  eight-hour 
day.  . 

(c)  That  the  object  of  the  organizers  in  unionizing  the  shops  was 
to  bring  about  a  closed  shop  and  that  a  closed  shop  means  lessening 
of  production. 

With  Judge  uary  (and  we  speak  of  him  as  representing  the  Steel 
Co.)  this  seems  to  be  the  most  important  proposition.  On  page  170 
of  the  evidence  appears  this : 

Senator  Borah.  ^Ir.  Gary,  this  matter  all  resolves  itself  then  into  the  single 
issue,  stripped  of  everything  else,  that  your  organization  does  not  propose  to 
deal  with  representatives  of  unions  as  representatives  of  unions  for  the  reason 
that  you  conceive  that  that  would  destroy  the  principle  of  the  open  shop? 

Mr.  Gary.  Yes;  that  is  true  in  every  respect. 

Senator  Borah.  That  is  the  whole  thing  in  a  nutshell. 

Mr.  Gary.  Yes;  that  is  a  good  statement  of  it. 

(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  170.) 

Again  on  page  166  of  the  testimony  Judge  Gary  lays  this  down 
as  the  fundamental  issue — the  question  of  the  open  or  the  closed 
shop. 

On  the  other  hand  both  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  and  Mr.  Gompers  contend 
that  the  open  or  closed  shop  is  not  an  issue.  On  pages  101  and  102 
of  the  hearings  Mr.  Gompers  testified  as  follows: 

Mr.  Gompers.  In  my  letter  and  the  several  letters  addressed  to  .Tudge  Gary 
by  the  committee  there  was  not  the  remotest  reference  to  any  question  of  closed 
shop  or  open  shoj).  I  assert,  without  any  hesitation  or  fear  of  contradiction, 
that  it  was  not  in  the  minds  of  the  committee  and  I  know  it  was  not  in  the  mind 
of  myself,  to  discuss  the  question  of  the  open  and  closed  shop  if  such  confer¬ 
ence  were  had.  It  has  been  simply — if  I  may  use  the  vulgarism — lugged  in  by 
the  judge  in  that  letter  that  is  read  and  in  the  publicity  of  the  corporation 
that  this  controversy - 

The  Chairman  (interrupting).  Then  you  say  that  the  closed  shop  is  not  an 
issue  in  this  strike? 

Mr.  Gompers.  It  is  not  an  issue,  sir.  You  can  imagine  one  of  the  common 
laliorers,  unskilled  laborers,  or  skilled  workers,  if  you  please,  as  an  individual, 
going  to  .Tudge  Gary  and  presenting  a  grievance;  or,  even  if  not  to  .Tudge  Gary, 
to  the  corporation’s  counsel,  appointed  by  .Tudge  Gary.  You  can  imagine  what 
chance  of  presentation  would  be  afforded  such  poor  devil  by  the  representative 
of  this  millions  and  millions  of  dollars  corporation.  You  can  imagine  how  much 
courage  a  man  would  have  in  appearing  before  .Tudge  Gary,  or  one  of  his  rep¬ 
resentatives,  to  present  either  an  individual  grievance  or  a  general  grievance 
which  the  workers  may  have. 

(d)  That  a  large  proportion  of  the  strikers  are  foreigners;  that 
few  Americans  have  gone  out  on  the  strike  and  that  most  of  the 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES.  13 

foreigners  do  not  know  the  reasons  for  the  strike,  but  have  merely 
followed  the  agitators  and  organizers  who  have  held  out  to  them  ail 
sorts  of  alluring  promises  as  to  what  they  would  secure  by  a  strike. 

labor’s  answer  to  the  contention  of  the  steel  co. 

{a)  That  a  union  shop  is  not  necessarily  a  closed  shop,  and  that 
the  closed  shop  was  not  in  any  of  the  demands  presented  at  the  con¬ 
ference  known  as  “  the  12  demands.”  (Testimony  Mr.  Fitzpatrick, 
p.  52  of  the  record.)  That  in  any  event  the  question  of  closed  shop 
could  not  arise  until  the  plants  had  been  unionized,  and  that  Judge 
Gary’s  claim  that  the  issue  was  either  the  closed  or  open  shop  was 
at  least  premature  because  that  question  could  not  arise  until  after 
the  plants  were  unionized. 

{h)  That  as  to  outsiders,  the  men  were  regular  organizers;  that 
while  they  are  from  a  distance  and  do  not  work  in  the  mills,  that 
nevertheless  they  are  selected  to  speak  for  the  various  labor  organi¬ 
zations  and  that  labor  is  entitled  to  be  represented  by  the  best  it  can 
secure,  whether  it  be  men  working  with  them  in  the  mills  or  men 
from  without;  that  the  strike  shows  they  do  represent  a  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  men  as  indicated  by  those  who  have  gone  out  on  the 
strike,  which  the  labor  leaders  contend  is  over  200,000. 

While  they  admit  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  strikers  are  for¬ 
eigners,  and  that  there  are  some  radical  elements  in  their  ranks,  yet 
they  contend  that  these  radical  elements  in  no  way  dominate  or  have 
had  anything  to  do  with  bringinn"  about  the  strike.  That  if  there 
are  a  large  number  of  foreigners  working  in  the  mills,  which  is  ad¬ 
mitted,  that  the  Steel  Co.  and  other  large  concerns  are  responsible 
for  bringing  them  in  and  can  not  now  be  heard  to  blame  them  for  the 
troubles  brought  about. 

Such  are  the  various  claims  of  the  parties  to  this  dispute.  Imme¬ 
diately  prior  to  and  during  the  strike  it  is  also  claimed  upon  the] 
part  of  the  labor  representatives  that  free  speech  has  been  supy 
pressed;  that  the  right  to  meet  and  discuss  their  affairs  has  beem 
denied  to  the  men.  Complaint  is  also  made  of  the  conduct  during 
the  strike  of  the  State  constabulary  of  Pennsylvania;  that  their, 
methods  have  been  brutal  and  unwarranted.  Complaint  is  also  madq/ 
of  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  low'er  magisterial  courts  in  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  in  the  forfeiting  of  bonds  and  the  refusal  to  grant  the  right 
of  counsel,  and  generally  unfair  conduct  of  cases  as  affecting  strikers.'' 


FAILURE  TO  POSTPONE  STRIKE. 

It  would  seem  that  the  request  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  backed  up  to  a  large  degree  by  the  request  of  the  president 
of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  to  postpone  the  strike,  should 
have  been  complied  with.  It  is  hardly  sufficient  answer  to  say  that 
Judge  Gary  likewise  declined  to  accede  to  the  request  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  that  he  confer  with  the  claimed  representatives 
of  the  laborers  of  the  United  States  Steel  Co.  with  relation  to  the 
strike.  Both  parties,  it  seems  to  us,  are  at  fault  in  refusing  to  heed 
thp  renuest  of  the  President,  and  evidences  upon  both  sides  a  lack 
of  that  consideration  for  that  great  third  party,  the  public,  whiclii 
is  always  the  greatest  sufferer  in  a  strike  of  this  character.  Thu 


14 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


refusal  of  the  labor  leaders  who  seem  to  have  been  the  guiding 
spirits  of  this  strike  to  accede  to  the  request  of  the  President,  even 
when  backed  to  a  certain  degree  by  the  president  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor,  lends  weight  to  the  idea  that  radical  leader¬ 
ship,  instead  of  conservative  leadership,  was  taking  possession  of 
and  guiding  this  particular  strike.  We  regret  that  Mr.  Gompers 
did  not  take  a  firmer  position  as  to  postponement. 

•  In  a  hearing  of  this  character,  where  there  are  many  diverse  ques¬ 
tions  arising,  it  is  natural  that  there  be  differences  of  opinion  on  the 
part  of  the  committee  as  to  some  of  them.  Some  of  the  most  diffi¬ 
cult  and  far-reaching  problems  of  our  industrial  life  come  to  the 
front  as  issues  in  this  strike.  Upon  some  of  them  there  is  a  differ¬ 
ence  of  opinion  among  the  various  members  of  the  committee. 
Some  of  these  questions  will  be  discussed  later  in  the  report.  The 
committee,  however,  present  these  propositions : 

{a)  That  the  laborers  in  the  steel  mills  had  a  just  complaint  rela¬ 
tive  to  the  long  hours  of  service  on  the  part  of  some  of  them  and  the 
right  to  have  that  complaint  heard  by  the  companjL 

{h)  That  they  had  the  right  to  have  the  representatives  of  their 
own  choosing  present  grieA^ances  to  the  employers.  Some  members 
of  the  committee  believe  that  more  friendly  relations  would  be 
maintained  between  employer  and  employee  if  the  representatives 
who  are  chosen  to  present  grievances  to  the  employers  were  actually 
working  in  the  industry  and  that  such  representatives  ought  not  to 
be  from  outside  of  the  industry. 

{c)  That  behind  this  strike  there  is  massed  a  considerable  element 
of  I.  W.  W.’s,  anarchists,  revolutionists,  and  Kussian  soviets,  and  that 
some  radical  men  not  in  harmonv  with  the  conservatiA^e  elements  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  are  attempting  to  use  the  strike 
as  a  means  of  elevating  themseh’es  to  poAver  within  the  ranks  of 
organized  labor. 

A  few  suggestions  as  to  these  findings  will  be  in  order.  The  eA’i- 
dence  disclosed  that  a  percentage  of  the  men  work  8  hours;  a  larger 
percentage  10  hours,  and  a  lesser  percentage  12  hours,  although 
there  is  dispute  in  the  evidence  as  to  this  proposition. 

Judge  Gary  testifies  that  34.8  per  cent  work  8  hours;  39.40  per 
cent  Avork  10  hours ;  26.52  per  cent  work  12  hours. 

We  believe  that  a  large  majority  of  the  men  actually  Avorking  in 
the  mills  Avork  10  and  12  hours  per  day.  While  there  are  spells  of 
rest  here  and  there  through  these  long  periods  of  10  and  12  hours, 
5’et  the  fact  remains  that  the  general  rule  is  either  a  10  or  12  hour 
day,  during  which  the  men  are  on  duty. 

There  has  been  some  improvement  in  the  steel  industry  in  this 
respect,  for  some  years  ago  a  large  percentage  of  the  labor  worked 
10  and  12  hours  a  dav  and  7  daA"s  in  the  week.  While  the  claim  is 

«.  4 

made  that  the  7  day  AA  eek  has  been  abolished  except  in  emergencies 
and  the  men  Avho  AAork  on  Sundavs  are  alloAved  one  week  dav  for 
rest,  the  evidence  on  this  point  is  conflicting. 

We  believe  AAdiere  continuous  operation  is  absolutely  necessary  the 
*  men  should  at  least  be  alloAved  one  day's  rest  in  each  Aveek. 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


1:5 

The  work  in  the  steel  mills  is  such  that  men  must  be  constantly  in 
attendance  and  the  work  does  not  stop.  To  change  to  an  8-hour  day 
would  mean  tliree  shifts  instead  of  two.  The  Steel  Co.  claims  that 
it  is  impossible  to  get  the  men.  And  further,  that  the  men  want  to 
•  work  more  than  8  hours  in  order  to  get  the  additional  pay,  there  be¬ 
ing  a  basic  8-hour  day  as  far  as  pay  is  concerned,  and  time  and  a  half 
for  all  time  over  8  hours. 

It  is  true  some  of  the  workers  testified  that  they  wanted  to  work 
longer  in  order  to  get  the  increased  compensation,  but  most  of  them 
seemed  anxious  for  an  8-hour  day  with  a  living  wage.  The  policy 
of  working  men  10  and  12  hours  per  day  in  the  steel  mills  is,  it  seems 
to  the  committee,  an  unwise  and  un-American  policy.  There  are 
many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  employees  in  the  steel  mills,  a  con¬ 
siderable  portion  who  can  not  read,  speak,  or  write  the  English 
language.  It  is  claimed  by  the  Steel  Co.  that  a  very  large  propor¬ 
tion  of  those  who  are  out  on  the  strike  are  foreigners,  which  is 
defined  in  the  evidence  to  be  non-English-speaking  people.  The  tes¬ 
timony  sustains  this  contention. 

The  8-hour  day  is  involved  in  the  solution  of  this  question.  These 
non-English-speaking  aliens  must  be  Americanized  and  must  learn 
our  language,  so  the  question  of  a  reasonable  working  day  is  involved 
in  the  question  of  Americanization.  Men  can  not  work  10  and  12 
hours  per  day  and  attend  classes  at  night  school.  It  is  the  general 
consensus  of  opinion  of  the  best  economic  writers  and  thinkers  that 
the  establishment  of  8-hour-day  systems  does  not  diminish  produc¬ 
tion.  Nor  do  we  think  the  claim  made  that  an  8-hour  day  is  im¬ 
possible  because  the  workmen  can  not  be  secured  for  three  shifts  is 
tenable.  An  8-hour  day  with  a  living  wage  that  will  enable  men 
to  support  their  families  and  bring  up  their  children  according  to 
the  standards  of  American  life  ought  to  be  a  cardinal  part  of  our 
industrial  policy  and  the  sooner  the  principle  is  recognized  the  bet¬ 
ter  it  will  be  for  the  entire  country. 

The  public  also  has  an  interest  in  the  problem  of  an  8-hour  day. 
Fatigue  in  human  kind  is  a  breeder  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction. 

II. 

As  to  subdivision  (b)  of  the  findings  of  the  committee,  namely, 
the  right  of  the  men  to  select  their  own  representatives  to  present 
their  grievances,  there  should  perhaps  be  an  exception  made.  The 
representatives  selected  should  be  those  who  believe  in  the  principles 
of  the  American  Government.  In  the  instance  of  Judge  Gary  refus¬ 
ing  to  receive  a  committee  claiming  to  represent  the  men  in  the  em¬ 
ployment  of  the  company,  he  could  well  have  objected  to  receiving  a 
man  with  the  views  of  Mr:  Foster.  He  did  not  put  his  refusal  on 
that  ground,  but  put  it  rather  on  the  ground  that  the  men  did  not 
represent  the  employees,  though  himself  conceding  that  10  to  15  per 
cent  of  the  mills  were  probably  unionized.  It  seems  to  us  that  even 
'  10  to  15  per  cent  of  the  men  had  the  right  to  select  their  own  repre¬ 
sentatives  and  present  their  grievances  to  the  steel  company,  and  that 
they  should  have  been  heard.  Judge  Gary  could  have  announced  to 
them,  as  well  as  he  did  afterwards  in  his  letters  to  the  presi¬ 
dents  of  his  subsidiary  companies,  that  he  would  not  deal  with  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  unions,  and  that  he  considered  the  question  one  of 


18 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


open  and  closed  shop ;  likewise,  it  seems  to  us  unfortunate  that  Mr. 
Gary  did  not  answer  the  letter  of  Samuel  Gompers,  the  accredited 
representative  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  and  president 
thereof.  Such  things  do  not  tend  to  harmonize  conditions  but 
rather  to  accentuate  them.  The  proposition  under  discussion  raises 
the  question  of  collective  bargaining,  unionism,  closed  and  open  shop, 
and  on  these  propositions  there  is  much  controversy. 

The  committee  is  agreed  that  the  principle  of  collective  bargaining 
is  a  right  of  men  working  in  industry.  Collective  bargaining  has 
generally  been  recognized  as  a  right  of  labor.  It  is  apparently  one 
of  the  effective  methods  that  labor  has  used  to  secure  its  rights.  The 
right  of  collective  bargaining,  however,  should  not  be  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  discriminating  against  any  class  of  workmen  whether 
union  or  nonunion  men.  Furthermore,  the  right  when  exercised 
should  involve  full  responsibility  on  either  side  to  abide  by  the  terms 
of  the  bargain. 

Judge  Gary  seems  to  believe  that  the  question  of  open  and  closed 
shop  is  involved  in  the  general  proposition.  There  may  be  two  kinds 
of  closed  shop  as  we  understand  it — a  shop  closed  against  nonunion 
men  because  they  do  not  belong  to  a  union  and  a  shop  closed  against 
union  men  because  they  do  belong  to  the  union.  One  is  a  closed  shop 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  men  themselves  who  belong  to  the 
union  and  the  other  is  a  closed  shop  through  the  instrumentality  of 
the  emplo^^ers.  Both  of  such  closed  shops  are  un-American.  The 
testimony  taken  does  not  disclose  either  class  of  closed  shop  existing 
in  the  steel  industry.  Men  have  the  right  in  this  country  to  work 
whether  they  belong  to  unions  or  not  and  no  body  of  men  has  the 
right  to  stop  other  men  working  because  they  do  not  belong  to  a 
union.  On  the  other  hand,  men  have  the  right  to  join  unions  and 
to  speak  through  their  unions,  and  employers  have  no  right  to  pre- 
/vent  joining  unions  or  to  discharge  men  or  make  their  positions  un- 
^  tenable  or  unpleasant  because  they  have  done  so.  The  doctrine  of  col¬ 
lective  bargaining  as  generally  understood  is  not  recognized  in  the 
steel  mills,  and  this  has  caused  considerable  dissatisfaction  upon  the 
part  of  man}^^  of  the  steel  workers.  The  question  of  the  open  and 
closed  shop  would  not  be  involved  except  indirectly  until  in  fact  there 
was  a  substantial  unionization  of  the  plants.  However,  Judge  Gary 
takes  the  position  that  the  organization  and  unionization  of  the 
plants  of  necessity  results  in  the  closed  shop.  The  difficult  proposi¬ 
tion  in  this  matter  continually  arising  is  this:  Does  collective  bar¬ 
gaining  through  union  representatives  result  in  a  closed  shop  ?  If  > 
the  unions  would  recognize  the  right  of  men  to  work  and  be  treated 
as  fellow  workers  even  though  they  do  not  belong  to  the  unions,  it 
would  not  of  necessity  result  in  a  closed  shop.  The  question  is  one 
of  great  difficulty  and  the  solution  of  it  is  not  necessary  in  the  view 
of  the  committee  in  order  to  present  a  report  of  conditions. 

The  committee  not  being  entirely  of  one  mind  on  the  subject 
presents  the  facts  and  the  variety  of  opinions  to  the  Senate. 

III. 

The  testimony  as  introduced  and  the  study  the  committee  has  made 
of  the  situation  lead  them  to  the  conclusion  that  while  there  were 
legitimate  complaints  as  to  long  hours  of  service,  that  the  strike 
has  been  seized  upon  by  some  I.  AV.  AA^’s,  Bolshevists,  and  anarchists 
to  further  their  own  interests,  and  that  their  influence  in  the  strike 
has  been  powerful. 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


17 


The  committee  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  American  Federation  of 
Taibor  has  made  a  serious  mistake  and  has  lost  much  favorable  public 
oi)inion  which  otherAvise  they  would  possess  by  permittino-  the  lead¬ 
ership  of  this  strike  movement  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  some  Avho 
heretofore  have  entertained  most  radical  and  dano-erous  doctrines. 

If  labor  is  to  retain  the  confidence  of  that  large  element  of  our  pop¬ 
ulation  which  affiliates  neither  with  labor  organizations  nor  capital,  it 
must  keep  men  avIio  entertain  and  formulate  un-American  doctrines 
out  of  its  ranks  and  join  with  the  employers  of  labor  in  eliminating 
tliis  element  from  the  industrial  life  of  our  Xation.  Un(]uestionably, 
the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  has  had  the  support  of  a  larger 
and  of  a  Avider  circle  in  the  country  during  the  strike  because  of  the 
character  of  some  of  the  strike  leadership.  Labor  organizations 
should  not  place  the  workingmen  in  the  position  of  any  sympathy 
AAuth  un-American  doctrines  or  make  them  folloAvers  of  any  such 
leadership.  Such  practice  aauII  result  in  defeating  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  their  demands. 

Take  the  case  of  Air.  William  Z.  Foster.  ^Ir.  Foster  is  secretary  4 
to  the  committee  composed  of  the  24  international  unions  managing 
this  strike.  His  duties  Avere  substantially  to  act  as  secretary  of  the 
strike,  to  look  after  the  organization  of  workers,  and  to  handle  the 
finances.  He  is  in  the  office  at  Pittsburgh  ai^d  seems  to  be  the  gen¬ 
eral  manager  of  the  strike.  While  it  is  claim^kl  that  he  has  had  little 
to  do  with  it.  it  is  quite  apparent  to  the  committee  that  he  has  more 
to  do  AA’ith  it  than  any  other  man  in  its  actual  management.  He  is  one 
of  the  signers  of  the  letter  to  the  President  and  to  Mr.  Garv.  He 
appears  to  be  a  man  of  excellent  education,  a  thinker,  and  prolific 
Avriter.  It  is  a  source  of  regret  to  find  that  a  man  born  in  America 
should  have  Avritten  such  doctrines  as  are  set  forth  in  his  “  SAuidical- 
ism  ”  and  his  more  recent  publications.  At  the  time  of  his  Avriting 

Syndicalism  ”  he  was  wholly  antagonistic  to  American  labor  unions, 
and  especially  to  the  American  Federation  of  Labor.  Soon  after, 
however,  he  seems  to  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could  ac¬ 
complish  his  aims  and  purposes  better  by  boring  from  Avithin,  as  he 
expressed  it  in  one  letter  to  Solidarity,  the  I.  W.  W.  publication. 
Carrying  out  his  doctrine  of  “  boring  from  within  ”  he  became  active 
in  organized-labor  work  and  soon  became  a  leader. 

We  insert  excerpts  from  his  book  shoAving  that  he  believed  that 
nothing  was  illegal  if  necessary  to  carry  out  his  Auews.  He  ad¬ 
vocated  violence  in  strikes.  He  cliarged  the  American  labor  moA^e- 
ment  Avas  infested  with  hordes  of  dishonest  officials.  He  was 
closely  associated  Avith  Mr.  Alargolis,  present  attorney  for  the  I.  W. 
W.'s  at  Pittsburgh,  Avho  has  been  behind  this  strike  with  all  of  his 
I^OAver;  with  Mr.  Vincent  St.  John,  formerly  secretary  to  the  I.  W. 
W.'s.  and  the  eAudence  convinces  the  committee  there  has  been  little 
change  of  heart  on  the  part  of  Air.  Foster  and  that  he  is  now  in 
the  full  heyday  of  his  power  in  the  “  boring  from  Avithin  ’’  process. 

Such  men  are  dangerous  to  the  country  and  they  are  dangerous  to 
the  cause  of  union  labor.  It  is  -unfair  to  men  who  may  be  strug¬ 
gling  for  their  rights  to  be  represented  by  such  leaders.  It 
prevents  them  from  securing  proper  hearing  for  their  cause.  If  Air. 
Foster  has  the  real  interest  of  the  laboring  man  at  heart  he  should 
remove  himself  from  any  leadership.  His  leadership  injures  instead 

S.  Rep.  289,  66-1 - 2 


18 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


of  helps.  If  he  will  not  remove  himself  from  leadership  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Federation  of  Labor  should  pur^e  itself  of  such  leadership  in 
order  to  sustain  the  confidence  which  the  country  has  had  in  it 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Gompers. 

Mr.  Foster’s  book  on  syndicalism  and  on  trade-unions  has  been 
before  the  committee.  These  doctrines  are  subversive  of  govern¬ 
ment.  ^Ir.  Foster  in  the  3’ear  1911  was  an  admitted  I.  W.  W.  and 
attempted  at  the  Labor  Convention  at  Budapest  to  take  the  place  of 
Mr.  James  Duncan,  the  duly  accredited  representative  from  this 
countrv.  He  wrote  articles  from  abroad  to  Solidaritv,  the  I.  W.  IV. 
paper,  signing  them,  “Yours  for  the  revolution”:  “Yours  for  the 
I.  IV.  W.”  These  letters  breathe  the  spirit  of  anarchy. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  “  SYNDICALISM.” 


In  his  choice  of  weapons  to  fight  his  capitalist  enemies,  the  Syndicalist  is 
no  more  careful  to  select  those  that  are  “fair,”  “  just,”  or  “  civilized  ”  than  is 
a  householder  attacked  in  the  night  by  a  burglar.  He  knows  he  is  engaged  in 
a  life  and  death  struggle  with  an  absolutely  lawless  an  unscrupulous  enemy,  and 
considers  his  tactics  only  from  the  standpoint  of  their  effectiveness.  With 
him  the  end  justifies  the  means.  Whether  his  tactics  be  “  legal  ”  and  “  moral  ” 
or  not  does  not  concern  him  so  long  as  they  are  effective.  He  knows  that  the 
laws,  as  well  as  the  current  code  of  morals,  are  made  by  his  mortal  enemies 
and  considers  himself  about  as  much  bound  by  them  as  a  householder  would 
himself  by  regulations  regarding  burglary  adopted  by  an  association  of  house¬ 
breakers.  Consequently,  he  ignores  them  in  so  far  as  he  is  able  and  it  suits 
his  purposes.  He  proposes  to  develop,  regardless  of  capitalist  conceptions  of 
“  legality,”  “  fairness,”  “  right,”  etc.,  a  greater  pawer  than  his  capitalist  ene¬ 
mies  have;  and  then  to  wrest  from  them  by  force  the  industries  they  have 
stolen  from  him  by  force  and  duplicity,  and  to  put  an  end  forever  to  the  wages 
svstem.  He  proposes  to  bring  about  the  revolution  by  the  general  strike. 

(P-9-)  ... 

The  general  strike  and  the  armed  forees. — Once  the  general  strike  is  in  active 
operation  the  greatest  obstacle  to  its  success  will  be  the  armed  ^  forces  of 
capitalism — soldiers,  police,  detectives,  etc.  This  formidable  force  will  be  used 
energetically  by  the  capitalists  to  break  the  general  strike.  The  Syndicalists 
have  given  much  study  to  the  problem  presented  by  this  force  and  have  found 
the  solution  for  it.  Their  proposed  tactics  are  very  different  from  those  used 
by  rebels  in  former  revolutions.  They  are  not  going  to  mass  themselves  and 
allow  themselves  to  be  slaughtered  by  capitalism’s  trained  murderers  in  tbe 
There  is  a  safer,  more  effective  and  more  modern  method.  They 
armed  forces  by  disorganizing  and  demoralizing  them. 


the 


orthodox  way 
are  going  to  defeat 
(P.  10.) 

Syndicalists  in  every  country  are  already  actively  preparing  this  disorgani¬ 
zation  of  the  armed  forces  by  carrying  on  a  double  educational  campaign 
amongst  the  workers.  On  the  one  hand,  they  are  destroying  their  illusions 
about  the  sacredness  of  capitalist  property  and  encouraging  them  to  seize  this 
property  wherever  thev  have  the  opportunity.  On  the  other,  they  are  teach- 
ino-  working  class  Soldiers  not  to  shoot  their  brothers  and  sisters  who  are  in 
revolt,  but,  if  need  be,  to  shoot  their  own  officers  and  to  desert  the  army  when 
the  crucial  moment  arrives.  This  double  propaganda  of  contempt  foi  capitali.st 
property  “  rights,”  and  antimilitarism,  are  inseparable  from  the  propagation  of 
the  general  strike.  (P.  11.) 

Bloodshed. — Another  favorite  objection  of  ultra  legal  and  peaceful  Socialists 

is  that  tlie  general  strike  would  cause  blondshed.  , 

q’bis  is  in-obablv  true,  as  every  great  strike  is  accompanied  by  violence. 
Everv  forward  pace  humanity  has  taken  has  been  gained  at  the  cost  of  untold 
suffering  and  loss  of  life,  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  revolution  will  prob- 
nblv  be  no  exceiition.  Gut  the  prospect  of  bloodshed  does  not  frighten  the 
sviidicalist  worker,  as  it  does  the  parlor  Socialist.  He  is  too  much  accustomed 
to  riskiiw  himself  in  the  murderous  industries  and  on  the  hellish  battle 
in  the  nigirardlv  service  of  his  masters,  to  set  much  value  on  Ins  life 
Idadlv  risk  it  once,  if  necessary,  in  his  own  behalf.  He  has  no  sentimental  re¬ 
gards  for  what  may  happen  to  his  enemies  during  the  general  strike.  He  lea\es 

them  to  worry  over  that  detail.  (I*.  13.) 


fields 
He  will 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


19 


Perhaps  the  most  widely  practiced  form  of  sahotaj^e  is  tlie  restriction  hv  the 
^^ollvels  of  tlieir  output.  Disjjriintled  workers  all  over  the  world  iiistinctivelv 
and  contimmlly  practice  tins  form  of  sahotjijje,  winch  is  often  i-eferred  to  as 

soldiering.  The  En^lisli  labor  unions,  hy  the  establishment  of  inaxiinnin  out¬ 
puts  for  their  members,  are  widely  and  succe.ssfully  practicini?  it.  It  is  a  fruit¬ 
ful  source  of  their  strenj?th. 

The  most  widely  knov'ii  form  of  saliotajje  is  that  known  as  “  puttin^^  the  ma¬ 
chinery  on  strike.”  The  .syndicalist  sees  on  strike  to  tie  up  industry.  If  his 
strikinji:  fails  to  do  this,  if  strike  breakers  are  secured  to  take  his'place,  he 
accoinplishes  his  purpo.se  by  “putting:  tie-  machinery  on  strike”  throujrh  tem- 
liorarily  disahlinjt  it.  It  he  is  a  railroader  he  cuts  wires,  puts  cement  in 
.switche.s,  sij,uials,  etc.,  runs  locomotives  into  turntable  pits,  and  tries  in  every 
possible  way  to  temporarily  di.sorjranize  the  delicately  adjusted  railroad  .systeni 
If  he  is  a  machinist  or  factory  worker,  and  hasn’t  ready  access  to  the  inacliineryi 
he  will  Idle  out  as  a  .scab  and  surreptitiously  jiut  emerv  du.st  in  the  bearinjjs  of 
the  machinery  or  otherwi.se  disable  it.  Oftentimes  he  takes  time  by  the  fore¬ 
lock,  and  wiien  soini?  on  strike  ‘‘puts  the  machinery  on  strike”  with  him  by 
hidin.ir,  stealinjr,  or  destroyinp:  some  small  indisiiensable  machine  part  which  is 
diifi(ult  to  lejilace.  A.s  i.s  the  case  with  all  direct-action  tactics,  even  conserva¬ 
tive  w'orkers,  when  oh  strike,  naturally  practice  this  form  of  .sabotajtt? _ tliou^di 

in  a  desultory  and  unorjjanized  manner.  This  is  seen  in  their  common  attacks 
on  machines,  such  as  street  cars,  automobiles,  wantons,  etc.,  manm^d  by  scabs. 

Another  kind  of  sabotajje  widely  [iracticed  by  .syndicalists  is  the  tactics  of 
either  ruinin;;  or  turnin"  out  inferior  iiroducts.  Thus,  hv  causing  their  employers 
financial  losses,  they  force  them  to  si’Jint  their  demands.  The  numerous  varie¬ 
ties  of  this  kind  of  sabotage  are  known  by  various  terms  such  as  “  passive  re¬ 
sistance,”  “  obstructionism,”  “  pearled  strike,”  ‘‘  strike  of  the  cros.sed  arms,”  etc 
(P.  15.) 


The  syndicalist  is  as 

everyday  battles  as  for  his  final  strutrjtle  with 
siderations  of  ‘‘  lesalit.v,”  reliction,  patriotism, 
in  the  waiy  of  his  adoption  of  effective  tactics, 
is  loyalty  to  the  interests  of  the  w’orkin.r?  class 


unscrupulous  ”  in  his  choice  of  weapons  to  fijjht  his 

capitalism.  He  allow’s  no  con- 
‘  honor,”  “duty,”  etc.,  to  stand 
The  only  .sentiment  he  knows 

-  - — .  He  is  in  utter  revolt  atrainst 

capitalism  in  all  its  phases.  His  lawiess  course  often  lands  him  in  .jail,  but  he 
is  so  fired  by  revolutionary  enthusiasm  that  .jails,  or  even  death,  have  no’  terrors 
for  him.  He  glories  in  martyrdom,  consoling  him.self  with  the  knowledge  that 
he  is  a  terror  to  his  enemies,  and  that  his  movement,  to-day  sending  chills 
along  the  spine  of  international  capitalism,  to-morrow’  will  put  an  end  to  this 
monstrosity.  (P.  IS.) 

The  syndicalist  is  a  radical  antipatriot.  He  is  a  true  internationalist,  know'- 
ing  no  country.  He  oppo  es  patriotism,  because  it  creates  feelings  of  nation¬ 
alism  among  the  workers  of  the  various  countries  and  prevents  cooperation 
between  them,  and  also  because  of  the  militarism  it  inevitably  breeds.  He  view’s 
all  forms  of  militarism  w’ith  a  deadly  hatred,  because  he  know’s  from  bitter 
experience  that  the  chief  function  of  modern  armies  is  to  break  strikes,  and 
that  wars  of  any  kind  are  fatal  to  tlie  labor  movement.  He  depends  solely  on 
his  labor  unions  for  protection  from  foreign  and  domestic  foes  alike  and  pro¬ 
poses  to  put  an  end  to  w’ar  between  the  nations  by  having  the  workers  in  the 
belligerent  countries  go  on  a  general  strike  and  thus  make  it  impossible  to 
conduct  wars. 

Another  difference  between  industrial  unionism  and  syndicalism  is  that  the 
former  puts  emphasis  on  the  industrial  form  of  organization  and  the  ‘‘  one  i 
big  union  ”  idea,  wiiile  th-'  hitter  emphasizes  revolutionary  tactics.  Indu.strial 
unionist  also  preach  the  doctrine  that  tliere  are  no  leaders  in  the  revolutionary  ^ 
movement,  w’herea  a  fundamental  principle  of  syndicalists  is  that  of  the 
militant  minority  (outlined  in  ch.  9).  (P.  82.) 

The  w’orking  class,  w’hose  sole  defense  they  are  against  the  capitalist  class, 
is  in  retreat  before  the  latter’s  attacks.  If  this  course  is  to  be  arre  ted  ami 
the  workers  started  upon  the  road  to  emancipation,  the  American  labor  move¬ 
ment  must  be  revolutionized.  It  must  be  placed  upon  a  syndicalist  basis. 

( P.  3C. ) 

Labor  fal-evs. — The  American  labor  movement  i 
dishonest  ofiicials  who  misuse  the  power  conferred  .......  ... 

labor  movement  to  their  ow’ii  advantage,  even  though  this  involves  the  betrayal 
of  the  interests  of  the  w’orkers.  The  exploits  of  these  labor  fakers  are  too 
w’ell  known  to  nee^l  recapitulation  here.  Suflice  to  sav  the  labor  faker  must 
go.  (P.  89.) 


;  infested  wdth  hordes  of 
upon  them  to  exploit  the 


20 


INVESTIGATING  STKIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


In  the  foregoing-  pages  only  the  more  important  evils  afflicting  American 
labor  unionism  have  been  gone  into  and  their  remedies  indicated.  Lack  of 
si)ace  forbids  the  discussion  of  the  many  minor  ones  with  which  it  bristles. 
But  the  rebel  worker,  in  his  task  of  putting  the  American  labor  movement  upon 
a  syndicalist  basis,  will  have  no  difflculty  in  recognizing  them  and  their  anti¬ 
dotes  when  he  encounters  them.  (P.  42.) 

The  S.  L.  of  N.  A.  is  demonslrating  that  the  American  labor  movement  is 
ripe  for  a  revolution  and  that  the  conservative  forces  opposed  to  this  revolu¬ 
tion  are  seemingly  strong  only  because  they  have  had  no  opposition.  It  is  mak¬ 
ing  them  crumble  before  the  attacks  of  the  militant  minority,  organized  and  con¬ 
scious  of  its  strength.  (P,  47.) 

We  call  attention  also  in  this  connection  to  the  testimony  of  Mr. 
Margolis,  who  at  least  is  entitled  to  credit  for  frankness  in  ex¬ 
pounding  his  abominable  doctrines  before  the  committee.  He  is 
not  a  member  of  the  Federation  of  Labor  and  has  no  connection  with 
it,  but  he  has  rallied  to  the  support  of  this  strike  in  the  Pittsburgh 
district  the  I.  W.  W.  and  anarchistic  elements  of  the  population. 
Pie  has  had  strong  influence  with  the  Pinion  of  Kussian  Workers  and 
secured  their  support  for  the  strike.  He  admits  that  they  are  an¬ 
archists;  he  admits  that  he  is  an  anarchist.  He  has  been  a  close 
associate  of  Emma  Goldman  and  Alexander  Berkman,  and  attempted 
to  organize  at  Pittsburgh  all  the  various  organizations  antagonistic 
to  government.  He  assisted  in  spreading  anarchistic  literature  and 
I.  AP.  ^Y.  journals.  Ho  himself  is  against  all  government.  He  is 
llie  kind  of  man  who  would  not,  as  he  himself  testified,  use  any  force 
against  a  man  robbing  his  house  or  assailing  his  wife.  He  is  ap¬ 
parently  on  close  terms  Avith  Mr.  Foster.  While  he  criticizes  him 
for  having  given  up  his  syndicalistic  vieAvs,  he  leaves  the  impression 
that  he  belieATS  Foster  still  has  those  Auews  “in  the  back  of  his 
head,”  and  that  he  had  become  a  member  of  the  American  Federa¬ 
tion  of  Labor  for  the  purpose  of  better  carrying  out  the  policies  that 
he  really  had  in  mind  and  to  which  he  was  sincerely  attached. 

^Ir.  Margolis  is  a  highly  educated  man,  a  good  speaker,  and  the 
kind  of  man  AAdio  is  calculated  to  do  immense  harm.  He  cares  not 
for  the  country  Avhich  by  law  protects  him.  He  desires  to  dissolve 
this  Government  by  peaceful  means.  He  has  no  sympathy  for  our 
American  institutions.  Mr.  Margolis  has  maiiA"  followers.  He  is  a 
writer  for  the  I.  ^Y.  W.  magazines  and  is  a  type  of  the  OATrpeaceable 
and  ultradangerous  citizen.  We  recommend  to  Senators  that  they 
read  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Margolis  as  taken  before  this  committee. 

^Ir.  Foster  aiijiarently  also  is  more  or  less  closely  associated  Avith 
Mr.  Wncent  St.  John,  a  notable  T.  ^Y.  AA".  Avorker,  and  Mr.  St.  John 
is  also  closely  asso  ciated  Avith  Mr.  Margolis.  Mr.  P'oster  thought 
enough  of  Mr.  St.  Jolin'’s  vieAvs  to  quote  him  in  his  book  on  “  Syn¬ 
dicalism.”  and  jVIr.  St.  John  has  been  in  Pittsburgh  just  prior  to  the 
strike.  And  Avhile  ^fr.  I'oster  denies  any  ])arti{‘ular  consulation 
Avith  him.  he  admits  having  seen  him.  That  Mr.  A'incent  St.  John 
has  been  active  as  to  the  steel  strike;  that  he  is  closely  associated 
Avith  Margolis  and  Avith  Foster  is  shoAvn  by  a  letter  Avritten  to  Alar- 
golis  by  St.  John,  as  folloAvs: 

Chicago,  III.,  Auf/ust  IH,  1919. 

FiiiKNi)  ]\TAi{(i()Lis  :  AiKMit  that  article  1  was  to  mail  yon — they  want  to  repro- 
(lnc(*  it  in  Sol  lunv  so  I  let  tlnMii  have  it.  After  which  they  promise  to  mail  it 
to  me,  and  I  will  s{H‘  that  yon  .uet  it:  that  is,  if  they  do  not  run  it.  If  they 
do,  of  conrs(‘,  yon  will  see  it  in  the  Sol. 

Thinijs  aie  lookinp-  a  little  hettei-  here,  and  from  press  reports  tl.'ei'e  is  some¬ 
thing;  stirring;  throni;hont  the  country. 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


21 


Just  wliile  I  think  of  it,  if  you  huve  u  chance  to  talk  matters  over  with 
Foster  on  possible  developments  in  case  of  a  strike  in  steel,  I  think  it  would  he 
a  ^;ood  thin^?  to  do  so.  It  mif^ht  he  possible  to  frustrate  treaclun-ons  action 
by  international  otlicials  should  a  strike  occur — and  I  think  a  strik(‘  is  assured. 

Itepirds  to  all  the  hunch. 

Sincerely, 

V.  Sr.  John. 

Tlte  evidence  before  the  coniinittee  sliowed  ^rent  activity  at  Gary 
amon«’  those  who  would  be  termed  “  Reds,”  and  while  it  would 
be  unfair  to  say  that  they  Avere  the  leading  force  behind  the  strike,  it 
is  fair  to  say  that  they  were  doing  everything  they  could  to  help  it. 

Lient.  Van  Rnren,  of  the  Regular  Army,  testified  before  the  com¬ 
mittee  as  to  the  great  activities  of  anarchists  found  in  (iary:  Large 
quantities  of  anarchistic  literature  were  found;  some  in  homes,  some 
in  places  of  public  meeting — Russian  finarchistic  literature,  soi^ialist 
literature,  SloATikian  and  other  nationalities.  It  Avas  someAvhat  in¬ 
teresting,  though  distressing,  to  hear  from  him  that  all  the  foreign 
societies  Avere  rather  prosperous  in  Gary,  and  the  only  society  that 
had  gone  out  of  business  Avas  the  American  society.  This  literature 
is  being  generally  circulated.  It  is  the  literature  of  the  soviet.  Its 
poison  is  being  instilled  into  the  minds  of  men  Avho  knoAV  nothing 
about  this  country,  and  apparently  no  effort  is  being  made  to  haA'e 
them  knoAv  anything  about  it.  We  do  not  mean  this  as  a  reflection 
upon  the  American  Federation  of  Labor.  We  Avould  i-ather  make  it 
as  a  }dea  to  the  Federation  to  purge  itself  of  these  men. 

Labor  has  done  a  great  Avork  in  the  Avar.  It  has  stood  nobly  by 
the  purposes  of  this  conntiy.  It  can  not  noAv  afford  to  harbor  men 
Avho  in  their  hearts  desire  to  destroy  this  GoA’ernment. 

We  insert  a  part  of  the  declaration  adopted  during  the  Avar  by  the 
National  and  International  Trade  Unions  of  America. 


We,  the  officers  of  the  National  and  International  Trade  L^nion.s  of  America, 
in  national  conference  assembled  in  the  Capital  of  our  Nation,  hereby  pledge 
oui’selves  in  peace  or  in  war,  in  stress  or  in  storm,  to  stand  unreservedly  by 
the  standards  of  liberty  and  the  safety  and  preservation  of  the  institutions 
and  ideals  of  our  Republic. 

In  this  solemn  hour  of  our  Nation’s  life  it  is  our  earnest  hope  that  our  Re¬ 
public  nniy  be  safeguarded  in  its  unswerving  desire  for  peace ;  that  our  people 
may  be  spared  the  horrors  and  the  burdens  of  Avar ;  that  they  may  have  the 
opportunity  to  cultivate  and  develop  the  arts  of  peace,  human  brotherhood, 
and  a  higher  ci\dlization. 

But,  despite  all  our  endeavors  and  hopes,  should  our  country  be  draAvn  into 
the  malestrom  of  the  European  conflict,  aa’O,  Avitli  these  ideals  of  liberty  and 
justice  herein  declared,  as  the  indispensable  basis  for  national  policies,  offer 
our  services  to  our  country  in  every  field  of  activity  to  defend,  safeguard,  and 
preserve  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  of  America  against  its  enemies 
Avhomsoever  they  may  be,  and  Ave  call  upon  our  felloAV  Avorkers  and  felloAV 
citizens  in  the  holy  name  of  labor,  justice,  freedom,  and  humanity  to  de- 
A’otedly  and  patriotically  giA^e  like  service. 

(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  117.) 

This  breathes  a  lofty  spirit  of  patriotism. 

No  man  did  more  than  Mr.  Gompers  in  standing  against  Bol¬ 
shevism  and  in  instilling  patriotic  desire  into  the  minds  of  American 
labor.  In  a  magazine  for  April,  1919,  in  an  article  of  Mr.  Gompers, 
he  says: 

America  is  not  merely  a  name,  a  land,  a  country,  a  continent ;  America  is  a 
symbol.  It  is  an  ideal,  the  hope  of  the  world. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  stand  by  his  country  in  times  of  stress  and 
Avar  as  Avell  as  during  times  of  peace.  The  man  aaJio  w'ould  not  fight,  or  make 


22 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


the  supreme  sacrifice,  if  necessary,  to  save  and  protect  his  home  and  his  country, 
who  would  not  fight  for  liberty,  isi  undeserving  and  unworthy  of  living  in  a 
free  country. 

(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  131.) 

Again  he  says  in  the  same  article : 

I  do  not  know  that  I  am  entitled  to  very  great  credit  because  I  am  not  a 
Bolshevik.  With  my  understanding  of  American  institutions  and  American 
opportunities,  I  repeat  that  the  man  who  would  not  be  a  patriot  in  defense  of 
the  institutions  of  our  country  would  be  undeserving  the  privilege  of  living 
in  this  country. 

If  I  thought  that  Bolshevism  was  the  right  road  to  go,  that  it  meant  freedom, 
justice,  and  the  principles  of  humane  society  and  living  conditions,  I  would 
join  the  Bolsheviki.  It  is  because  I  know  that  the  whole  scheme  leads  to  no¬ 
where,  that  it  is  destructive  in  its  efforts  and  in  its  every  activity,  that  it 
compels  reaction  and  brings  about  a  situation  worse  than  the  one  it  lias  under¬ 
taken  to  displace,  that  I  oppose  and  fight  it. 

(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  133.) 

In  an  article  in  McClures,  May,  1919,  as  found  in  the  record  (p. 
134),  Mr.  Gompers  sounded  forth  a  trumpet  call  of  Americanism. 
As  a  sample  we  quote  the  following: 

Our  country  is  now  facing  a  crisis  to  meet  which  continuity  of  war  i)roduc- 
tion  is  essential.  Workers,  decide  every  industrial  question  fully  mindful  of 
those  men— fellow  Americans — who  are  on  the  battle  line,  facing  the  enemies’ 
guns,  needing  munitions  of  war  to  fight  the  battle  for  those  of  us  back  at  home, 
doing  work  necessary  but  less  hazardous.  No  strike  ought  to  be  inaugurated 
that  can  not  be  justified  to  the  men  facing  momentary  death.  A  strike  during 
the  war  is  not  justified  unless  principles  are  involved  equally  fundamental  as 
those  for  which  fellow  citizens  have  offered  their  lives — theii-  all. 

We  must  give  this  service  without  reserve  until  the  war  is  won,  serving  the 
cause  of  human  freedom,  intelligent,  alert,  uncompromising  wherever  and  when¬ 
ever  the  principle  of  human  freedom  is  involved. 

We  are  in  a  great  revolutionary  period  which  we  are  shaping  by  molding 
everyday  relations  between  man  and  man.  Workers  of  America  as  well  as  all 
other  citizens  have  difficult  tasks  to  perform  that  we  might  hand  on  to  the 
future  the  ideals  and  institutions  of  America  not  only  unimpaired  but  strength¬ 
ened  and  purified  in  spirit  and  expression,  thus  performing  the  resi)onsible  duty 
of  those  intrusted  with  the  high  resolve  to  be  free  and  peiTetuate  freedom. 

(Steel  strike  hearings,  p.  137.) 

There  is  a  startling  contrast  between  the  words  of  F oster  and  these 
words.  This  is  the  language  of  the  man  who  attempted  to  secure  a 
postponement  of  this  strike  at  the  request  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  The  laborers  Avere  contending  for  American  prin¬ 
ciples  in  contending  for  an  eight-hour  day.  They  can  not  put  the 
management  of  a  campaign  for  American  principles  into  the  hands 
of  men  Avho  do  not  believe  in  American  doctrines  and  hope  to  succeed. 

There  may  be,  in  vievr  of  the  radical  utterances  and  actions  of 
certain  leaders,  some  Avarrant  for  the  belief  that  the  strike  in  the 
steel  industry  is  a  part  of  a  general  scheme  and  purpose  on  the 
part  of  radical  leaders  to  bring  about  a  general  industrial  revolu¬ 
tion.  The  committee,  hoAvever,  do  not  go  to  that  extent  because  they 
feel  there  were  some  real  grievances.  While  Mr.  Gom])ers  did  not 
originally  participate  in  counseling  or  advising  the  strike,  he  sub¬ 
sequently  indorsed  it  and  put  the  power  of  his  influence  behind  it. 
In  vieAV  of  his  standing  and  patriotism  the  committee  does  not  be¬ 
lieve  that  he  could  be  a  participant  in  a  moA^ement  involving  such 
revolution. 

As  to  the  active  supj^ort  of  the  I.  W.  W.’s  in  the  strike  Ave  insert 
an  article  from  the  October  issue  of  the  I.  W.  W.  magazine  “  The  One 
Big  Union.”  Said  article  is  as  follows: 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


23 


OUR  PROGRAM  TN  THE  STEEL  DISTRICT. 

IP.A-  Harold  Lord  Varney,  Secretary-Treasurer  of  Metal  and  ^Machinery  Workers  I.  U. 

No.  300.1 


priiitc'd,  liiiii- 
j;eneral 


jrreat 


By  courtesy  of  Fellow  Worker  vSandjrren,  I  have  read  the  lnoIlo^^raI)h  of  Mr. 
Mar^olis  in  inaiiiiscript.  Its  point  of  view  is  refri'shing  and  illinninative. 
Written  as  it  is,  in  the  very  glare  of  tlie  onrushing  steel  strike,  it  is  a  strong 
message  of  the  moment.  Perhaps  Ix'fon*  thesi'  words  are  (‘ven 
dreds  of  thousands  of  steel  slaves  will  be  on  the  tiring  line  of  a 
strike.  And  then  the  problem,  which  ^Ir.  Margolis  raises,  will  h(‘Come  acute 
and  tense. 

Let  me  state  here — i)Ositively  and  for  all  time — that  the  I.  W.  W.  has  no 
feud  with  the  “borer  from  within.”  We  do  not  advocate  “  boring  from  within  ” 
tactics.  Not  ofliciall.v.  Put  we  are  not  entirely  blind  to  the  fact  that  labor’s 
surge  runs  in  man.y  molds  which  are  not  of  our  making.  That  thousands  of 
workers — I.  W.  W.  workers — have  been  forc(‘d  by  circumstance  to  hnd  their 
economic  expression  in  the  extreme  wings  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  That  there 
they  are  accomplishing  a  veritable  revolution  in  thought  and  tactics.  As  an 
independent  movement,  the  I.  W.  W.  can  not,  of  course,  indor.se  them.  Put 
as  a  revolutionary  movement,  the  I.  W.  W.  can  not  hut  realize  that  all  roads — • 
even  the  roads  of  the  A.  F.  of  L.  “  borer” — lead  inexorably  home  to  the  I.  W.  W. 

In  other  words,  the  I.  W.  W.  attitude  can  be  described  as  one  of  unotlicial 
tolerance  toward  all  “  one  big  union  ”  movements.  Pe  it  the  Canadian 
O.  P.  U.,  Seattle  Duncanism,  Di'troit  and  its  auto  workers,  or  the  Fosterized 
steel  union  of  Pittsburgh,  we  who  are  I.  W.  W.’s  throw  no  barriers  in  their 
way.  When  they  strike,  we  strike  with  them.  When  they  feel  the  vengeance 
of  the  A.  F.  of  L.,  we  come  to  their  defense.  When  they  stumble  and  grope 
for  guidance,  it  is  the  I.  W.  W.  which  lifts  them  up.  This  is  the  task  and 
duty  which  those  who  are  I.  W.  W.’s  have  assumed. 

Put  beyond  a  certain  point  the  I.  W.  W.  does  not  yield.  And  this  is  the 
point  of  autonom.v.  Many  emotional  persons,  seeing  the  success  of  these  tac¬ 
tics  in  local  instances,  are  swept  away.  “  Let  us  abandon  tbe  beaten  track  of 
T.  W.  W.  autonomy,”  they  cry.  “  I..et  us  all  go  into  the  A.  F.  L.  and  capturo 
it!”  they  cry  out  shrilly  in  meetings.  They  bombard  the  press  with  their 
naive  importunings.  Syndicalists,  they  call  themselves,  and  again  and  again 
they  have  paralyzed  the  morale  of  our  organization  by  their  luring  arguments 
for  a  “  change.” 

Such  people  lose  sight  of  the 
For  the  I.  W.  W.  is  not  a  mere 
The  I.  W.  W.  is  first,  last,  and 
are  constructing  a  new  society. 

And  only  as  we  enter 
of  our  new  industrial 


one  indelible  fact  of  the  I.  W.  W.  movement, 
labor  union,  neither  is  it  a  band  of  evangels, 
all  the  time  an  architectural  movement.  We 
Our  unions  are  organs  of  this  new  society, 
every  industry  and  build  there  the  first  frail  foundation 
system,  are  we  making  progress  toward  our  great  goal. 
By  building  industrial  unions  in  each  industry,  we  gather  into  our  movement 
the  human  material  which  is  to  be  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  system ;  the 
militant  minority  who  are  to  wage  the  victorious  fight ;  the  constructive  ele¬ 
ment  of  the  working  class,  who  will  study  the  task  of  the  future  in  the  I.  W.  W. 
of  the  present,  and  who  will  be  trained  for  industrial  management  in  the  .school- 
house  of  the  present-day  I.  W.  W.  movement. 

There  is  a  certain  spirit,  a  certain  quality  in  the  I.  W.  W.,  which  one  finds 
nowhere  else  in  the  American  labor  movement,  and  it  is  a  quality  which  has 
transmitted  it.self  to  every  I.  W.  W.  member.  This  is  the  quality  of  con¬ 
structive  proletarianism.  Always  the  acts  of  the  I.  W.  W.  are  shadowed  by 
our  goal — the  goal  to  “  build  a  new  society  witbin  the  shell  of  the  old  ”  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  the  architectural  spirit. 

Now  this  spirit  can  find  expression  in  no  other  form  than  the  form  of  in¬ 
dependent  unionism.  The  man  who  “  bores  from  within  ”  is  consumed  with 
the  duties  of  polemics ;  he  has  no  time  for  constfuction.  The  wobbly  who 
squanders  his  energy  “  capturing  ”  other  movements  has  no  energy  left  to 
build  his  own.  The  worker  who  toils  unceasingly  to  “  make  the  A.  F.  of  L. 
revolutionary,”  may  accomplish  his  immediate  goal  and  lose  his  final  one.  For 
of  what  value  are  revolutions  to  the  proletariat  if  our  tactics  fail  to  train  our 
class  for  the  duties  of  self-administration  which  will  follow  the  revolution? 
Better  to  build  a  .small  movement,  which  shall  be  .solid  and  invincible  in  its 
economic  genius,  than  to  capture  all  the  workers  of  America  into  a  blind, 
wobbling  mob.  The  I.  W.  W.  moves  slowly,  but  we  are  rearing  a  new  industrial 
civilization  with  every  step  we  make.  Ours  not  to  capture  but  to  build  I 


24 


INVESTIGATIN^G  STRIKE  IX  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


In  the  steel  industry  tn-day,  such  is  the  I.  W.  W.  program.  We  have  a  dual 
union  to  the  P''osterized  A.  F.  or  L.  But  we  are  not  tigliting  tliat  A.  F.  of  L. : 
on  the  contrary,  we  are  cooperating  witli  it  at  every  step  in  the  fight.  INIany 

of  our  members  are  in  the  Steel  Workers’  Union  ;  some  of  them  sit  in  the 

councils  of  that  body.  But  still  we  have  our  own  union.  Throughout  the  steel 
district  we  have  a  far-flung  human  trench  of  I.  W.  W.  job  delegates.  And 
we  are  lining  up  the  steel  workers  into  Metal  and  Machinery  Workers  I.  U. 
No.  300. 

Here  the  steel  workers  catch  the  tang  of  the  real  fight.  Here  they  are  re¬ 
called  to  the  truth  that  the  steel  union  and  the  steel  strike  is  only  an  incident ; 
that  behind  it  is  the  background  of  a  world-wide  class  struggle  and  that  this 
struggle  will  bring  victory  only  when  the  workei’s  are  capable  of  industrial 
control.  Here  they  find  themselves  by  the  side  of  I.  W.  W.  miners,  I.  W.  W. 
lumberjacks,  I.  W.  W.  construction  workers,  I.  W.  W.  transport  men.  Thev 
are  no  longer  bound  in  a  single  union ;  they  are  in  a  class  organization,  and 
the  spirit  of  class  wideness  gives  the  vision  of  a  new  society. 

Let  Foster  build  his  one  big  union  ;  may  it  grow,  may  it  increase,  may  it 

win  its  battle  with  the  Steel  Trust.  But  though  we  may  be  called  “  orthodox,” 
we  of  the  I.  W.  W.  will  still  toil  for  our  I.  W.  W.  one  big  union — and  we  know 
that  when  we  have  at  last  built  it  we  have  also  built  a  new  society. 

IV. 

We  liave  not  discussed  the  12  demands  of  the  organizers,  but  only 
a  portion  of  them.  They  were  undoubtedly  to  be  used  as  a  basis 
for  compromise,  and  we  see  no  particular  need  in  the  discussion  of 
any  of  them  except  those  heretofore  considered. 

Since  the  strike  there  has  been  complaint  that  the  strikers  have 
been  denied  the  right  of  free  speech,  and  that  the  treatment  by  the 
officers  has  been  brutal  and  that  their  treatment  in  the  coiuts  does 
not  accord  with  the  high  ideals  of  American  democracy.  In  some 
places  all  meetings  have  been  denied.  In  others  street  meetings 
have  been  denied  and  indoor  meetings  permitted.  The  orders  of 
the  mayors  and  burgesses  that  no  outdoor  public  meetings,  or,  in 
some  places,  no  public  meetings  should  be  held,  was  most  distasteful 
to  them.  While  apparently  they  were  trying  to  obey  this  order, 
they  regard  it  as  aimed  wholly  at  them.  They  are  to  be  commended 
for  their  observance  of  law  and  order.  It  may  be  open  to  question 
whether  permits  to  hold  meetings  should  have  been  denied  to  the 
workers,  and  while  generally  the  orders  denying  permits  were 
obeyed,  yet  in  most  instances  where  clashes  occurred  or  arrests  made 
it  was  because  of  attempts  to  hold  meetings  after  the  request  for  a 
permit  had  been  denied. 

Freedom  of  speech  is  one  of  the  bulwarks  of  American  liberty. 
Freedom  of  speech  does  not,  however,  mean  unbridled  license.  It 
does  not  mean  the  right  of  men  to  advocate  the  overthrow  of  this 
Government,  but  it  seems  to  us  that  where  a  strike  is  carried  on 
in  a  peaceful  way  that  the  least  possible  amount  of  restraint  and 
the  largest  freedom  of  speech  Avhere  meetings  are  conducted  in  an 
orderly  way  is  certainly  to  be  desired  in  the  America  Republic. 
The  suppression  of  frank  discussion  only  serves  to  accentuate  a  bad 
situation. 

Officials  should  not  hesitate  to  prevent  meetings  called  together 
for  the  puri)ose  of  advocating  the  overthrow  of  the  Government. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  prevent  men 
meeting  and  talking  over  their  grievances  and  pre.senting  to  the 
men  their  ariruments  in  favor  of  ioining  the  union  or  refraining 

1  j  ^ 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


25 


from  joining*  the  union.  Incidents  have  been  presented  to  the  com¬ 
mittee  of  unnecessary  force  by  police  oliicers.  Probably  there  will 
always  be  abuses  in  times  of  excitement,  but  ap])arently  there  have 
been  cases  of  unotfending  men  and  women  arrested  without  reason 
by  the  officers,  put  into  jail,  and  in  some  cases  fined  by  magistrates 
without  warrant  or  justification.  It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to 
special  cases  as  disclosed  by  the  evidence.  The  action  in  many 
instances  Avas  such  as  to  lead  one  side  of  this  controversy  to  the  be¬ 
lief  that  the  officers  of  the  law  were  acting  on  the  side  of  the  Steel 
Co.  Such  a  situation  is  unfortunate  and  helps  to  breed  discontent. 
As  long  as  officers  are  human  beings  they  well  make  mistakes.  They 
should  be  very  careful  that  in  maintaining  the  majesty  and  dignity 
of  the  laAv  they  do  nothing  to  bring  it  into  disrespect. 

As  to  the  comi)laint  of  the  action  of  the  courts,  we  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  there  is  some  ground  for  comjdaint  and  that  the  magis¬ 
terial  courts  in  the  taking  of  bonds  and  the  forfeiting  of  bonds,  in 
the  arresting  of  peo])le  merely  as  sus])icious  characters  and  sending 
them  to  jail  therefor,  has  not  in  every  instance  been  justifiable.  The 
courts  should  be  very  careful  that  they  are  not  subject  to  just  criti¬ 
cism  for  curtailing  tlie  rights  of  defendants. 

The  foreigners  whom  the  needs  of  our  industries  bring  among  us 
can  not  be  dragooned  into  love  for  America  and  loyalty  to  its  insti¬ 
tutions.  Public  officials  should  always  be  ready  to  receive  sympa¬ 
thetic  suggestions  for  the  relief  of  just  complaints  or  violations  of 
or  interference  with  the  legal  or  humane  rights  of  labor,  as  well  as 
the  insistence  upon  a  protection  of  the  property  rights  of  capital 
and  the  preservation  of  law  and  order. 

V. 

AVe  have  thus  far  discussed  the  situation  as  pertaining*  to  tlie  em¬ 
ployer  and  the  emplo^^ee.  There  is  a  third  Jiarty,  hoAvever,  to  all  of 
this  controversy — the  great  public.  There  is  no  place  in  this  coun¬ 
try  either  for  industrial  despotism  or  labor  despotism.  Xo  one 
should  be  permitted  to  unjustly  cause  the  great  body  of  the  public 
to  suffer.  Strikes  are  a  relic  of  industrial  barbarism,  but  at  present 
strikes  are  apparently  the  only  way  for  labor  to  secure  even  its  just 
demands  if  emplo^’ers  refuse  to  grant  them  or  to  submit  them  to 
arbitration.  It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  our  Nation  that  no  way  has 
been  devised  to  settle  these  disputes  outside  of  strikes.  They  are 
destructiA'e  and  Avrecking  to  the  industrial  life  of  the  Nation.  Some¬ 
body  has  to  pay  the  bill  and  in  eA^ery  instance  it  is  the  public.  The 
public  has  a  right  to  demand  that  capital  shall  not  arrogate  to  itself 
the  right  to  determine  in  its  oAvn  Avay  these  industrial  questions,  and 
it  is  the  same  as  tO'  labor,  and  the  duty  is  iq^on  the  Congress  as  repre¬ 
senting  the  people  to  provide  some  means  for  the  adjustment  of 
these  difficulties.  This  Avas  done  during  the  Avar  through  the  AA^ar 
Labor  Board  and  their  action  was  fairly  satisfactoiy. 

Before  suggesting  remedies  the  committee  desires  to  make  these 
observations :  A  large  percentage  of  the  strikers  are  foreigners.  By 
this  Ave  mean  unnaturalized  citizens.  Passing  now  the  question  of  the 
responsibility  for  these  men  being  here,  it  is  suggested  that,  Avhile 
America  welcomes  those  who  come  from  foreign  shores  who  desire 


26 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 

Doi i®  liberties  and  op- 

poituiiities  of  Amencan  life,  yet  those  who  come  for  the  mirnosf 

of  stirring  np  trouble  against  tliis  Government  and  attempting  tc 

undermine  it  and  overthrow  it  sliould  be  escorted  to  tlie  water  fdo-e 

and  shipped  back  to  the  land  from  which  they  came  If  the  laws 

^e  deported  at  once.  If 
sufficient  Congress  should  immediately  enact  laws 
oieiing  this  serious  situation.  Men  who  try  to  destroy  a  govern¬ 
ment  should  not  be  permitted  to  appeal  to  that  governinent  to  pro¬ 
tect  them  in  the  processes  of  destruction.  ' 

trv  There  are  in  this  coun- 

ti  working  in  the  factories,  mines,  and  mills  thousands  of  men 

Mho  can  not  read,  speak,  or  write  the  American  language.  Many 

ernmen  Mnfi'i  "o*  ^n^'^  tb®  purposes  and  ideals  of  this  Gov- 

einment.  \\  nile  in  the  Government,  they  are  not  a  iiart  of  it  These 
men  must  be  given  the  benefit  of  some  education.  They  must  be  given 

roacMo American  language  and  start  on  the 
load  to  American  citizenship.  It  is  an  unhealthy  condition  of  af- 

alls  M hen  sc)  inaiiy  thousands  of  men  and  their  families  have  so  little 

Von^  its  institu- 

lions,  its  desires,  and  its  language. 

REMEDIES. 

I^iile  the  committee  was  not  under  the  resolution  asked  to  sug¬ 
gest  remedies,  it  feels  it  would  fall  short  of  its  duty  if  it  did  nSt 
make  some  suggestions  to  Congress  along  remedial  lines.  Some  o^ 
the  suggestions  are  not  directly  involved  in  the  steel  .strike,  but  they 
come  to  the  minds  of  the  committee  from  the  evidence  that  they 
liav^e  takGn,and  conditions  tliey  liavG  observed. 

T  Ibat  a  board  or  coniniission  somewhat  similar  to  the  'War 

Labor  Board  should  be  established.  This  board  to  have  poAver  of  com¬ 
pulsory  investigation ;  to  have  large  poAver  in  mediation  and  concilia¬ 
tion  and  recommendations;  not  to  the  extent  of  compulsory  arbi- 
tiation,  but  before  this  board  controA^ersies  could  be  heard,  investi- 
ptions  made,  and  decisions  rendered.  That  pending  said  investimi- 
tion  and  decision  no  strike  should  be  declared  provided  no  employees 
are  discharged  for  taking  part  in  the  controversy  and  providkl  fur¬ 
ther  that  all  opportunity  for  the  employer  to  take  advantage  of  the 
delay  has  been  removed;  that  the  principle  of  collective  bargain¬ 
ing  and  an  8-hour  day  should  be  considered  by  said  board  and 
recommendations  made  to  labor  and  industry  in  relation  thereto* 
niat  the  board  should  be  in  the  nature  of  a  Federal  indus¬ 
trial  commission,  seeking  at  all  times  not  only  to  settle  iiend- 

belp  bring  about  a  more  harmonious 
condition  betAveen  employer  and  emplovee.  A  just  decision 
ot  said  board  would  be  indorsed  by  the  public  and  public 
sentiment  is  powerful  enough  to  enforce  the  findings  of  such  a 
commission.  There  is  good  sense  enough  among  the  great  body  of 
the  American  peojile  to  bring  about  an  adjustment  of  these  diffi¬ 
culties.  Ihe  great  body  of  the  American  people  believe  in  a  liberal 
industi  lal  sAstem,  in  liA'ing  Avages  for  men  employed  in  industry* 
AAages  that  will  permit  them  to  rai.se  their  families  according  to  the 
standards  of  American  life  and  to  enjoy  recreation  from  hard,  grind¬ 
ing  toil ;  but  the  American  iieople  haA*e  no  patience  and  Avill  have  none 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


27 


with  liny  leiulersliip  that  seeks  to  accomplish  its  jRirposes  by  barba¬ 
rous  methods  of  freezing  or  starving  the  American  people.  They  do 
not  propose  to  freeze  and  they  do. not  propose  to  be  starved,  and  they 
do  not  i)ropose  that  a  few  men  in  this  country  shall  have  the  power  to 
brin«'  about  such  condition  of  affairs.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are 
as  much  opposed  to  an  autocracy  of  ca])ital.  Capital  must  be  reason¬ 
able  likewise.  The  employer  must  recognize  that  there  is  a  new 
si)irit  in  the  world;  that  labor  is  not  content  to  be  merely  a  hewer  of 
wood  and  a  drawer  of  water,  and  that  labor  is  fighting  for  a  status 
in  industrial  life,  and  it  is  not  concerned  merely  with  wages. 

AVhy  can  not  capital  and  labor  cooperate  and  establish  between 
themselves  the  doctrine  of  tlie  square  deal ;  cease  to  be  sus})icious  of 
one  another,  join  together  and  act  together  for  the  good  of  each  other 
and  for  the  well-being  of  the  public  at  large?  It  is  the  hope  of  the 
world  that  military  warfare  has  ceased.  Have  we  not  reason  also 
to  hope  and  insist  that  industrial  warfare  may  cease?  It  can  not 
without  a  s])irit  of  mutual  cooperation  between  caj)ital  and  labor. 

Second.  That  an  Americanization  bill  be  passed  by  the  Congi^ess 
which  will  provide  for  the  effective  education  and  Americanization 
of  the  illiterate  foreigners  and  native  illiterates  in  this  country.  A 
bill  of  this  kind  has  already  been  re])orted  out  of  this  committee  and 
your  committee  urges  an  early  adoption  of  the  same  by  Congress. 

Third.  It  is  observable  in  the  strike  districts  that  the  men  who  own 
their  homes  are  more  contented  and  more  interested  in  the  affairs  of 
the  countiy.  One  real  antidote  for  unrest  in  this  country  is  home 
ownership.  It  is  difficult  to  plant  the  seeds  of  revolution  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  own  their  own  liomes.  The  work  of  the  steel 
companies  in  building  homes  has  been  most  commendable.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  such  work  will  be  enlarged  and  carried  on  by  them.  It 
would  not  be  out  of  place  to  suggest  that  it  would  be  most  com¬ 
mendable  for  the  steel  companies  to  use  some  of  their  large  profits 
in  extending  the  work  of  home  building.  The  question  of  aid  and 
encouragement  in  the  work  of  assisting  townspeople  of  small  means 
in  securing  their  own  homes  in  some  such  way  as  the  farmer  has  been 
aided  under  the  Federal  farm  loan  act  is  worthy  the  serious  consid¬ 
eration  of  Congress. 

Fourth.  There  should^  be  a  change  in  our  naturalization  laws 
which  will  require  the  naturalization  and  some  education  of  all 
foreigners,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  speaking  the  American  language ; 
that  they  should  acquire  such  knowledge  within  a  period  of  five 
years  after  they  arrive,  with  proper  limitations  upon  further  immi¬ 
gration,  giving  to  those  already  here  a  certain  period  of  time  in 
which  to  become  naturalized,  and  if  this  is  not  done  then  deporta¬ 
tion  should  follow. 

Fifth.  An  effective  law  should  be  passed  dealing  with  anarchists, 
revolutionists,  and  all  who  would  destroy  the  American  Government. 
There  are  too  many  Americans  who  love  their  country  and  are  will¬ 
ing  to  give  their  life  for  it  and  who  intend  that  all  the  doors  of 
American  opportunity  shall  remain  open  for  the  children  of  to-day 
and  the  children  of  to-morrow  to  permit  a  feAv  thousand  anarchists, 
revolutionists,  and  I.  W.  W.’s  to  keep  on  with  their  nefarious 
propaganda  to  destroy  the  Government. 


28 


INVESTIGATING  STRIKE  IN  STEEL  INDUSTRIES. 


The  views  here  expressed  fairly  represent  the  conclusions  arrived 
at  by  the  committee.  We  present  the  report  to  the  Senate  with  the 
hope  that  out  of  it  may  come  some  remedial  legislation,  and,  if  not. 
with  the  belief  that  good  must  come  of  an  investigation  of  this 
character  where  the  light  of  publicity  has  been  turned  upon  the 
entire  transaction.  We  have  tried  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  causes 
of  this  strike.  We  have  heard  both  sides  impartially,  and  proceeded 
without  fear  and  without  favor,  solely  with  a  determination  to  arrive 
at  the  truth. 

Willia:m  S.  Kenyon. 

Thomas  Sterling. 

Lawrence  C.  Phipps. 
\Kenneth  McKellar. 
i/)avtd  I.  Walsh. 


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